Fuel Cafe to close Midtown restaurant
In less than a month, the doors will close at the Fuel Cafe restaurant on Madison Avenue in Midtown after eight years in business.
The Dec. 22 closure was announced on the restaurant’s Facebook page Tuesday.
“It’s a little sad to say goodbye to something that’s been a big part of my life for so long but really I am excited to be able to focus on other parts of my life,” owner Erik Proveaux wrote.
Proveaux said the chance to spend more time with his wife and their 3year-old and 6-month-old twins fueled his decision.
In the early part of 2019, he expects to transform the restaurant into an event space for chefs to try out new food concepts without the overhead of starting a restaurant. The pop-ups will likely be one-off events.
Although the restaurant will close, Proveaux said the brand is here to stay. He will continue to run his catering business and the Fuel Cafe food truck.
The menu shifted several times over the years but the core concept was to always to serve food made with natural ingredients, with vegetarian and vegan options. The name was a play on natural ingredients working as “rocket fuel” for the body, he said.
He said he simply wanted to serve “stuff that I like to eat, stuff that I feel good about serving to people.”
Proveaux said the changes over the years may have confused some patrons, but it kept the restaurant fun for a long time. Now, he’s looking forward to seeing more of his family.
“I really loved the space and I’m hoping that I can continue to offer cool things to happen in that space,” Proveaux said. “This just takes some pressure off of me to daily manage it.”
Desiree Stennett can be reached at desiree.stennett@commercialappeal. com, 901-529-2738 or on Twitter: @desi_stennett.