Sad News — Adolpho Garcia’s Primitivo Will Close

Primitivo, restaurateur Adolpho Garcia’s Central City jewel anchored by a giant hearth and cooking sensibilities that pay homage to the caveman, will shutter this coming Saturday, reports Todd Price.

The restaurant is known for Chef Nick Martin’s adventurous open hearth cooking “like smoked mullet with peas, smoked spare ribs and a tripe and tomato dish that could easily covert anyone skeptical about eating stomach.”

Garcia, who also owns Ancora, La Boca, High Hat Cafe and Gusto at Canal Place, opened the restaurant in May of 2015 with Chef Nick Martin. Lauded as a top new New Orleans restaurant by several critics, the restaurant heralded in a new era for Oretha Castle Haley Boulevard, opening less than a year after the Southern Food and Beverage Museum cut the ribbon on its new home on the same street. It was one of the first fine dining spots to take a chance on Central City.

Todd Price reports that the reason for the restaurants demise is a lack of customers. The restaurant did well the first year, but reservations dropped once the city started upgrading the street. While Garcia has “has 120 reservations for Saturday night (May 20). But Tuesday, he had just five customers.”

Garcia owns the building and hopes to find a new tenant that “‘may do better than us.’” [NOLA.COM]