Although Maple Leaf Life was just hoping this was a rumor, Divine owner Vivian Peterson confirms that the Greek restaurant at 7919 Roosevelt Way N.E. is closing its doors by the end of the month.
“It’s been a great four years here,” Peterson said. “But I feel like I’m very limited to what we can do and we’re pretty isolated.
“I really want to be around other restaurants and I want to be open for lunch. This location does not really allow me to do that.”
But Peterson also is thankful to the community for supporting her restaurant over the years, and she hopes to reopen Divine in a nearby location such as University Village in 2011.
“I want to be nearby because my customer base knows me,” she said.
However, Peterson also is considering taking her skills beyond the restaurant world.
“I would love to do more cooking shows,” she said, mentioning that she, along with Seattle chef Thierry Rautureau of Madison Valley’s Rover’s and Luc, can be seen on Comcast On Demand’s Get Local “Around the Sound” section making Divine Pastichio (pdf) at the Bite of Seattle last weekend.
“I would love to do some classes, make a cookbook,” she added. “It’s all a matter of getting connected at this time.”
And you have no need to worry about Divine’s garden being overrun with weeds after it closes. Peterson already has sold the restaurant and said the new owner plans to turn the corner property into a neighborhood pub.
“(Maple Leaf residents are) going to love whatever this turns into,” she said. “He’s really good at what he does, and I think it’s going to be really successful.”
Although Peterson has announced on Divine’s voice mail that the restaurant’s last night open is July 30, she’s antsy to get started in this next stage and says she may close shop early, so call ahead just to double-check. She promises to change the message to announce that it’s closed when that day arrives.
In the meantime, you can keep up with Divine through its Facebook page, and we hope to give you an update on the new pub as soon as we can learn some more.
Good luck, Divine!
We will miss you AND Divine, and will be watching & waiting for whatever’s next! Thanks for the good times & great food!
Saw a rumor of this on Twitter and knew you guys would have the scoop. So sorry to hear they’re closing! I really enjoyed their Sunday brunch. Ww wound up there once after taking our then-baby to the ER in the middle of the night — he was fine, we were discharged, and we wound up drinking coffee and eating loukamades to celebrate while he slept next to us.