Downtown’s Glittering Circadia “Closed for Business”

Circadia, the restaurant at Seventh and Olive that’s home to plush curved booths, a bevy of glittering chandeliers, and the culinary talents of Garrett Melkonian, closed its doors this weekend.

The restaurant announced on Facebook, “Thank you for visiting CIRCADIA. We are currently closed for business while we ponder our next chapter.” And it sounds like there is a next chapter in the works. The restaurant encouraged fans to sign up for newsletter updates and signed off with “Please stay tuned as we embark on our next adventure.”

Circadia opened this past November, envisioned as an oasis of old-school fine dining in a city that skews casual. Partners Jake Kosseff and Jeanie Inglis promised the most solicitous of service, and clever updates on classic dishes like lobster thermidor. As my colleague Kathryn Robinson finalized her review copy for the April issue, the restaurant shifted their menu toward “more variety and approachability,” as a rep put it when sharing a copy of the new spring menu. By then, Kosseff and Inglis were no longer part of the restaurant’s day-to-day operations, a seemingly unexpected shift she said was always the plan. The third founding partner, Corry Hart-Clayville, was leading the charge and working with Melkonian to fashion the menu.

So…will this place reopen as something else entirely? Or the latest in Seattle’s wave of more casual reconcepts? More details as we have them.