UPDATE: This story has been updated to include a portion of the statement received by the Reno Gazette Journal from Kathleen Austin, who owned Oxbow Cafe & Bistro with her husband, Greg:

"Our hopes are that someone will carry on so Dickerson Road will have a go-to spot for great eats and drinks. My husband and I are looking forward to retiring to our ranchett on the (Truckee) River.

"When one lets their staff, the people you have trusted for years, go, it's best to do it when the weather's great and before the holiday season."

INITIAL STORY:

Oxbow Cafe & Bistro has closed. The announcement dated Oct. 14 on its front door came just days after a Facebook post about the restaurant switching to winter hours.

Extensive social media speculation ensued about the reason for the abruptness of the closing, but as Clint Jolly, a longtime local culinary professional, astutely noted:

"A busy restaurant can still be unsuccessful in many ways . . . In my eyes, Reno is oversaturated with options, which spreads the sales over a lot of owners."

As of publication, Oxbow's Facebook page is still live, with no announcement of the closing. A message left by @RGJTaste at a number written on the announcement had not been returned as of publication.

Food, art, cars

Oxbow cafe occupied renovated quarters on Dickerson Road, a West Reno mix of studios, arts organizations, vehicle supply shops, garages and clumps of residential housing that some people are trying to make Reno's next hip district.

Oxbow shutting its doors comes after two other high-profile closings this month: the DeLuxe in Midtown Market, which I named one of the best new restaurants of 2017, and See See Motor Coffee Co., the Reno outpost of the Portland, Ore., coffee shop mingling java and motorcycle culture.

Bibo Coffee Co.'s Record Street location also closed earlier this month for a long-planned demolition making way for new development.

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Johnathan L. Wright is the food and drink editor of RGJ Media, part of the USA Today Network. Join @RGJTaste on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.