Chef-owner Silvana Salcido Esparza announced the permanent closure of acclaimed Barrio Cafe Grand Reserva in Phoenix over the weekend.
The move was necessary, she says, to save her flagship restaurant Barrio Cafe during the coronavirus pandemic.
‘‘Hard decision but we must save Barrio Cafe at all cost,’’ she wrote on social media.
Barrio Cafe Gran Reserva opened in June 2016 in the original Braggs Pie Factory on Grand Avenue, just south of Roosevelt, in Phoenix.
Although it seated just 27 people, the eatery received rave reviews for its elevated Mexican fare and all-Mexican wine list.
Esparza, an eight-time James Beard Award nominee, recently has enlisted other Valley chefs to help cook free meals for the hungry at Barrio Cafe.
Barrio Cafe is not related to the Valley’s similarly named Barrio Queen chain.
