Jere Downs

@JereDowns

America. The Diner., a concept introduced just last year to honor the tradition of classic greasy spoons, cooled faster than an order of french fries.

Chef Dustin Staggers abruptly announced in a Facebook message at 9:18 p.m. Sunday that the doors were closing for good that night at 962 Baxter Avenue. The diner lasted nine months in the heart of the Highlands on Baxter Avenue and Bardstown Road.

"Much to my disappointment, we will be closing the doors to America. The Diner. after our service on Sunday, March 27th. I’ve mentioned many times over the years that restaurants are still businesses, and when one fails to meet the bottom line on a consistent basis; at some point you have to make the call to close the doors," Staggers said in a Facebook message sent to Courier-Journal Dish writer Dana McMahan and a handful of Louisville food writers.

"We will be focusing our efforts at Roux, which is doing very well, and we look forward to providing our guests with the same amazing atmosphere and food that they’ve grown accustomed to," Staggers added.

Chefs spotlighted at Louisville Storytellers

Roux, a New Orleans concept a few blocks west on Bardstown Road, remains the last restaurant standing in Stagger's peripatetic sprint of opening, then closing four Louisville restaurants, in a two-year span.

Staggers did not immediately reply to a phone call seeking comment.

In Staggers' wake is Rumplings, a short-lived dumpling joint around the corner at 2009 Highland Avenue that closed in June to make way for Epic Sammich Co., which closed in February.

On his own since age 15, Staggers claimed restaurant work as a vocation he stumbled into during a talk at the Courier-Journal's Louisville Storytellers event November 16. In the series entitled "Confessions From The Kitchen," Staggers said his first day in a commercial kitchen ignited feelings of panic.

"I knew what I was good at, which was cooking food," he said.

In a talk to an audience gathered to hear real life restaurant tales from eight renowned Louisville chefs, Staggers said restaurant work, "feels glamorous but there is a lot of drinking, a lot of stress."

"I am divorced. I drink a lot," he said. "But you go out on the floor, and you see people take a bite and do that weird head thing and they nod. ... it makes it all worth it."

Jere Downs can be reached at (502) 582-4669, JDowns@Courier-Journal.com and Jere Downs on Facebook. Dana McMahan, of the Courier-Journal's Dish column, contributed to this story.