Spoke Wine Bar Will Close at the End of the Year

Spoke Wine Bar — an extraordinarily delightful little Davis Square gem, industry favorite, and longtime member of the Eater 38, Eater Boston’s collection of "38 essential restaurants" — will close its doors on December 22, 2016, owner Felicia "Flea" Foster announced via a post on the restaurant’s Facebook page tonight. "This is a tough one," she wrote. "There’s no other way to say this, except to say it. We’ve had a very good run. But now it is done."

Foster’s post cited the "very serious health issues" with which she has been dealing, and although she has tried to run the restaurant from afar, she found that it was not an ideal situation. "This is especially true for someone like me whose goal was to not only discover amazing wine, but to be in the trenches every night sharing this experience with each and every one of my guests and staff," she wrote.

Foster’s note also goes on to thank her entire staff by name, praising the work they’ve been able to do in her recent absence. "When all is finished and the doors close, each one of them will move on to incredible new pursuits (and perhaps a few well-deserved vacations) and they have earned my eternal love and gratitude," she wrote.

As for what’s next, it’ll be "business as usual" until closing day, and Foster expresses hope that "someone in the industry will buy the restaurant and continue what we started," so perhaps Spoke will live on in some form or another.

The restaurant was first announced in early 2012 and opened in Somerville’s Davis Square in early 2013, next to Dave’s Fresh Pasta. No. 9 Park alum John daSilva has been chef since the beginning, serving a compact menu of beautiful small plates. Current dishes include sweet tea-brined pork with apricot, king trumpet, crispy polenta, and red eye brodo; sweet pea spaetzle with chicken, chanterelle, and creme fraiche; and duck meatballs with smoked almond ajo blanco, grapes, jicama, and mint.

In a 2014 interview with Eater, chef Ana Sortun (Oleana, Sofra, Sarma) discussed her current favorites in the food world, naming Spoke as one of her favorite places to eat. "I love what John is doing at Spoke," she said at the time. "I think in the space that he has — which is mind blowing what he can do in that space — but just what he is doing is some serious cooking with his heart and soul, and I feel like it's sometimes off the radar, but it's one of my favorite places to go. I just feel so comfortable there and he's really going to set off and do something incredible."

Spoke has turned up on a variety of best-of lists over the years, particularly with regards to its excellent wine program. The tiny restaurant accepts reservations (with a few limitations); be sure to visit at least once in Spoke’s final months.

• Spoke Wine Bar’s Closing Announcement [FB]
• Spoke Wine Bar Coverage on Eater [EBOS]