The future of Davis & Main remains uncertain

I spoke with owner Robert Nolan about the sudden closure of the restaurant late this afternoon. His vague answers inspire little hope for the restaurant’s future.

June 10, 2011; 4:10 PM • by Nathan Cushing

The makeshift sign reads “Closed Today,” but a Fan restaurant’s future remains much more uncertain. I frowned as I peeked through the glass of Davis & Main. The restaurant was dark and chairs were methodically upended on tables. I knocked on the front glass and a middle-aged man emerged.

Owner Robert Nolan, who wears a kempt salt-and-pepper beard, was both reticent and slightly despondent when I spoke to him this afternoon shortly after 3pm outside his restaurant.

He’s been actively pursuing selling the restaurant, which he has owned since 2002. Davis & Main will remain closed through the weekend so that Nolan can perform light upkeep on the space. When I inquired about the restaurant’s plans for the immediate future, he remarked that Davis & Main may open on Monday. It may not. He told me that this was not the first time that he had closed the restaurant, a furlough of sorts. When I asked as to his specific reasons: saving money, staffing issues, etc. he nodded and said “all of them.”

The ambiguity of his remarks makes me wonder as to the certitude of Davis & Main’s future.

We’ll continue to follow and update this story as it develops.