John Tesar Shutters Spoon, With Plans to Focus on Italian Concept Fork

Whoa: New Year's Eve will be the final dinner service for John Tesar's acclaimed Spoon Bar & Kitchen in Preston Center — in its current incarnation, at least. A release hot off the desk of Tesar's PR representation reveals that the chef and Chanticleer Holdings, Inc. have "amicably" separated to "pursue their objectives separately."

Chanticleer, which owns and operates hundreds of Hooters restaurants worldwide, purchased Spoon late last year and planned to expand the brand with a string of fast-casual concepts. At the time, Tesar called the sale "a dream" come true and promised that Spoon would retain its integrity.

The release notes that Spoon will be relocating to a new location; Tesar says he has a "more high profile location" in mind, though he can't reveal it just yet since the space is currently occupied. Before relocating Spoon, though, the chef has another project taking priority: The debut of his impending Italian restaurant, which he says will not be called Gravy as previously rumored, but rather, Fork. Look for that to arrive in Spring 2015, if all goes to plan.