Seattle's revolutionary Art of the Table restaurant closing

SEATTLE - After 17 years, Seattle's Art of the Table will be shutting its doors for the final time.

The restaurant shook the restaurant industry locally and beyond with a style of designing their service around the personal preferences of their chef in a way which is commonplace today.

The owners posted a heartfelt goodbye on Instagram to Seattle and their longtime customers, reading, in part:

"We ask that you come make one last visit, one last meal before we say goodbye, so we may celebrate in what has been a dream and a reality that could never have happened without the love and support from you."

Art of the Table (Left, artofthetable/IG, Right, Google)

In 2007, however, this was new. Seattle Met's Naomi Tomky writes about the Art of the Table's early days.

"Art of the Table was one of the first ‘Unrestaurants’ in Seattle—dining destinations that eschewed the general conventions of hospitality. AOTT opened with six tables, butter-yellow walls, and Ronspies giving sermonettes about the virtues of eating communally from the kitchen door as he brought out course after course from his seasonal menu," said Tomky.

AOTT is currently in a Fremont space and will continue operating through November. Seattle Met reports celebratory closing meals are in the plans for the Seattle mainstay.

Regular offerings of their meals will cease on November 22. The final meals running from November 30–December 1 will be dubbed "Last Suppers."

Owner Ronspies quieted rumors and hopeful regulars with a definitive message in a recent email about the restaurant's future.

"Sadly, we will not be looking for the next spot, or the new hot concept…Shannon and I and the kids are ready to move on, to find a new home, to focus on family and self care."