Craft Work, a restaurant and bar in Detroit's West Village neighborhood, will close after service March 7.

The 6-year-old new American restaurant struggled with sales last year, said co-owner Hugh Yaro, who sent an email announcing the news. Like other recent closures — Gold Cash Gold in Corktown, for example — Craft Work cites a tightening market and more new restaurants opening, though Yaro said it's difficult to pinpoint the exact reason fewer seats are filling as of late.

Craft Work's approximately 20 employees were alerted by email Wednesday, said Yaro, who co-owns the 8047 Agnes St. spot with Christian Stachel.

"We sensed a slowing down in business I would say maybe eight months ago," Yaro said. "There was just a little bit more inconsistency with weekday and definitely with weekend (customers), as well ... It's hard to try and dissect why people were coming, and why they aren't coming."

Yaro declined to disclose sales figures.

"It is with a heavy heart that we have made the extremely difficult decision to close Craft Work," Yaro and Stachel said in the email sent Thursday morning. "Over the past several months, we have explored a range of possibilities to keep things going, as well as everything in our power to remain hopeful and optimistic ... in a time of such change, it's difficult for any business to know exactly what the answers may be, and how to best bring them to life ... The many people who've come to find comfort and joy in who we are will never cease to inspire and remind us of what this city is really capable of."

Yaro plans to further discuss the decision with staff next week and use his contacts to help them find jobs elsewhere, he said.

Yaro said he thinks West Village and other neighborhoods in the near-east Villages area are "thriving," but Craft Work wasn't financially capable of remaining open in hopes of a reversal of its sales slump. Other restaurants and cafes nearby include popular bakery Sister Pie, Detroit Vegan Soul and Marrow. There's also fitness studio Live Cycle Delight, barber shop Heavy Weight Cuts and others. A $22.5 million mixed-use development is under construction on the edge of West Village.

"To me (Craft Work's closure) signals ... (that) I don't believe we can take development for granted in the neighborhoods," said Mac Farr, executive director of the Villages Community Development Corp. "I think there is a very good case to be made that the city needs to support development to continue to bring new residents to the area, as well as doing more to support existing residents, particularly in the areas of tax foreclosure prevention and the delivery of city services. Because, you know, there should be a place for a spot like Craft Work. While somewhat fancy, it still had a number of price points and options there that provided for, you know, normal people to just come by and grab a bite or get a quick drink."

The restaurant industry is among big employers in Detroit. Though there's disagreement, some say the city has hit or is close to hitting a saturation point that leaves some players without the diners they need to keep going in an industry with slim profit margins and competition for talent. Others to close include Chef Max Hardy's River Bistro in northwest Detroit, Hard Rock Cafe downtown and Russell Street Deli in Eastern Market.

"There are new restaurants opening every week, every couple of weeks," Yaro said. "That makes sense for people to check out all the new places. I'm sure the pie shrinks a little bit with each one."

Justin Near, president of Bloomfield Hills-based public relations firm Near Perfect Media, said the metro Detroit restaurant market is basically full. Near Perfect represents restaurants including Phoenicia and Pernoi in Birmingham, and Bigalora Wood Fired Cucina.

"I'd estimate 100-120 new restaurants have opened up across our three counties in 2019 (chain restaurants excluded)," Near said in an email, referencing Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties. "Add to that a serious labor shortage, continuously rising labor and food costs, delivery services cutting into margins, and the number of truly frequent diners far fewer relative to other major metropolitan areas, every restaurant in metro Detroit has to work harder than ever to get people in the door."

However, the Detroit Restaurant and Lodging Association remains optimistic, according to association board chair Scott Lowell, also of Midtown restaurant Traffic Jam and Snug.

"For years the City of Detroit has had a dearth of restaurants and now diners can find a plethora of options," Lowell said in an emailed statement. "Every trend has peaks and troughs along its trajectory."