Oh, man. That custom exhaust system designed for all the tableside Korean barbecue.
Image: Courtesy Trove
Rachel Yang sent out the sad news in an email: She and her husband, Seif Chirchi, will say farewell to their restaurant on Capitol Hill. Trove will close after dinner on June 30.
Announcements like this are generally filled with circumspect language, but even in this mode, Yang’s a pretty straight shooter: “Those who have watched us closely over the years know how much we have worked to make Trove relevant. This industry is tough and this wasn’t our turn.”
She’s also not one to play it safe. Trove opened in 2014, a “culinary fourplex” that housed a noodle shop, bar, soft serve counter made out of an ice cream truck literally cut in half with a chainsaw, and Korean barbecue with some stylized flair. Back then, Yang and Chirchi said this last concept had been on their mind ever since they decamped the finest of dining in New York City for life in Seattle. But after years of feedback, they fused the four-in-one scheme into one cohesive restaurant last fall.
The couple still has the lease on this massive space on Pike Street and will use it for popups, cooking classes, and private dinners.
Undoubtedly two of the city’s best chefs, Yang and Chirchi have plenty else to keep them busy. Joule remains a go-to for arresting food, their Portland restaurant, Revelry, is going strong, and this fall Revel—one of those restaurants that makes you giddy you live in Seattle—will depart its temporary quarters in South Lake Union and return to its home in Fremont.
The alchemy of which restaurants succeed and which ones ultimately close remains mysterious, even for those of us who have obsessed over this topic for years. When Yang and Chirchi landed on Capitol Hill, they hatched an audacious plan and punctuated it with rad custom wallpaper. May that sense of adventure carry on long after Trove closes its doors.
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