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Connie & Ted’s, the West Hollywood institution that brought a high-end taste of New England’s coastline to West Hollywood, is shuttering its doors after more than a decade of service.
The beloved seafood hotspot announced on Instagram yesterday that it will close July 1, becoming the latest casualty in LA’s increasingly brutal restaurant bloodbath.
For 13 years, Connie and Ted’s was one of the city’s go-to spots for East Coast comfort food accompanied by a California price tag. Opened in 2013 by Chef Michael Cimarusti alongside Donato Poto and Crisi Echiverri, the restaurant became famous for its buttery lobster rolls, oyster platters, chowders, towering seafood spreads, and its wave-shaped roof.
But Connie and Ted’s could not outrun the city’s crushing restaurant economics. In a farewell message, the team behind the eatery blamed a perfect storm of pandemic fallout, rising costs and the increasingly difficult realities of operating in Los Angeles.
“We held on as long as we could, doing everything possible to navigate these challenges, but ultimately, we have reached a point where continuing forward is untenable,” Cimarusti, Poto, and Echiverri wrote in a statement to Eater Los Angeles.
The closure sent foodies spiraling online as devastated fans mourned the end of one of LA’s seafood institutions.
“This one really hurts,” one Reddit user wrote after the news broke.
“I am so grateful for more than a decade of commitment to the best ingredients, charming service, and exceptionally delicious food,” another commented on Instagram. “I am devastated to lose this culinary icon.”
Some lamented the city’s dining scene as unsustainable, saying that “no restaurant in LA, however great and beloved, is safe.”
“Vicious cycle in LA. Lease costs are so high that food costs skyrocket which sends away customers and bam, closure,” another chimed in.
Others were less shocked by the closure, and blamed Connie & Ted’s menu prices, including $39 lobster rolls, as the reason for not “turning a profit.”
The breezy nautical vibe turned the Santa Monica Boulevard restaurant into a fixture of the West Hollywood dining scene, known for attracting everyone from Hollywood industry execs to homesick east coast transplants.
Connie & Ted’s was initially billed as a more casual sibling to Providence, Chef Cimarusti’s fine dining seafood spot in Hollywood, which holds three Michelin stars.
