Pasture, the Southern-style eatery at 416 E. Grace St., has closed after almost eight years in business. Owners Michele Jones and Jason Alley announced today that the restaurant, known for its snowball-sized scoops of pimento cheese and other specialties, has shuttered.
Pasture owners Michele Jones (right) and Jason Alley (Photo courtesy Michele Jones)
“After some hard introspection, we decided that it was time to close the restaurant," says Alley. "It wasn’t a decision that we took lightly, but feel like all things considered, now was the time. It was a great run, and we love our guests like our own family.”
Some of the employees of the restaurant will relocate to Comfort — another restaurant the duo owns at 200 W. Broad St., where all net profits are donated to hunger-relief charity Feed More — while others will find new jobs. Jones says they are trying to help facilitate the changes with their employees as much as they can.
The closure comes less than two months after Alley and Jones, also co-owners of restaurant-arcade-brewery Bingo along with Jay Bayer of Saison and developer Ted Ukrop, announced that Pasture was up for sale and revealed plans for a pickle ball concept, Rally, combining entertainment with a bar and restaurant.
Jones and Alley at a foster care donation drive at Pasture (Photo courtesy Michele Jones)
The duo are currently working on the new "eat-ertainment" concept, along with a new business, Alley/Jones Hospitality, which they say will have a website launching soon.
The hope, the dining industry vets say, is that they will have more time to focus on future ventures. According to Jones, “We are excited to be moving forward."
