After fourteen years of serving contemporary Southern fare to Triangle residents, Raleigh’s 18 Seaboard will be closing its doors next month, chef and proprietor Jason Smith told the INDY today.
The restaurant’s departure on July 2 is connected to the upcoming renovation of the Shops at Seaboard Station, where 18 Seaboard is housed. Real estate developer PN Hoffman recently bought part of the retail center from William Peace University and made Smith an offer to end his lease early. PN Hoffman’s $250 million redevelopment will add ground-level retail space, residential units, and a hotel, according to a Peace University press release.
Smith says it “felt like the right time” for 18 Seaboard to close, and he looks forward to seeing what the future holds for Seaboard Station.
“I feel very fortunate that we live in the path of progress,” Smith says.
Smith says he’s excited to see regulars come into the restaurant over the next month, and is going to focus on running 18 Seaboard in the best way possible.
“I want to make sure that the job I’m doing is the job that people have expected and grown to love over the years,” he says.
Smith says he’s working with staff members to help them secure a new job before 18 Seaboard closes. Most will be moving to Smith’s other three restaurants—Harvest 18 in Durham and Cantina 18 in Raleigh and Morrisville—or to other restaurants in the area.
“The great thing is the restaurant community is so close-knit, I’ve had so many folks reach out saying, ‘I need a person here,’” he says.
He doesn’t have immediate plans to open a new restaurant, but he says he’ll continue to run and make “subtle improvements” to his other eateries in the area.
“I’m gonna be in the restaurant business in this community for a long time to come,” he says. “So it’s been really important for my wife and I to do this closing the best way possible: for our purveyors, our guests, and, of course, our coworkers.”
Contact food and digital editor Andrea Rice at arice@indyweek.com.
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