Dear friends: As you may have heard, yes, Optimo Restaurant - as we know it - has closed. 

In a way our restaurant, owned and overseen by my family, was overwhelmed with its own success. It is both a time to reflect on what our team has accomplished and prepare for what will come next. 

Our passionate team - dishwashers, servers assistants, servers, managers, bakers, line and prep chefs - led by General Manager Erin Ford and Executive Chef Christine Russell (as well as previously Chef Dave Teghtmeyer and Chef Frank Wildingway) - graciously served 25,000 scratch-made meals, catered numerous events and weddings and created many a great memory. 

Nonetheless, our family realized in order for the restaurant to be blissful and prosper for decades, management and ownership responsibilities must be transferred to a family better equipped to see this happen.

Joining the noteworthy dining scene in ones hometown is a responsibility we do not take lightly. Quite frankly however, we discovered that this responsibility was more than my family and I could handle without undue sacrifice and strife. In order to maintain family sanity, if you will, we simply had to cease attempting to manage what we could not manage.

This is not so much a closing, but an evolution, a beginning as well as an end. The result of everyones efforts will be something even better.

OUR CURRENT AND FUTURE GOALS: We will of course continue to run Main Street Station (home to the Winter Viroqua Farmer's Market, VIVA Art Gallery, Bramble Bookstore, Woodhookers Antiques and over 100+ other home town merchants). Furthermore, we pledge to help create a new well-run, farm-to-table eatery in downtown Viroqua (this time, owned and operated by another area family, tba).

Excitingly, we are actively brainstorming with several different local, premiere restaurateurs - all enthusiastic about taking over the Optimo space. All with working business plans.

Heartfelt thanks to our team, our town, our patrons, our farmers and suppliers and my family for all the good eats and wonderful times. 

Please watch for and support a new restaurant coming to Main Street Station in 2012.