CHICAGO — Restaurants fail. That's just how it is. But it's a real bummer when one of your favorite joints suddenly shuts down with neither warning nor explanation.

That's what happened to Quiote, the Logan Square Mexican spot beloved by locals and heralded by critics that twice in two years earned a spot on the prestigious Michelin Bib Gourmand. Chicago food-truck pioneer Daniel Salls' brick-and-mortar homage to his culinary hero, Rick Bayless, wowed skeptical food writers with "some of the best tortillas in town" and "bright takes on chicken mole and churros."

Since Quiote's February 2017 debut, Salls and his creative partners tweaked the menu to rave reviews, added late-night eats and tapped into the hipster craft-cocktail scene by rebranding the basement as Todo Santos, a Mezcal lounge run by Bayless protégé, beverage director Jay Schroeder. Last year, Salls bragged about Quiote's future in an interview with a Chicago food writer, "This restaurant's got legs. So how do you then start to think about creating a legacy?"

Indeed, Quiote seemed to have it all before closing up shop Aug. 11. Maybe that's why it was especially shocking for Quiote lovers like me to learn from an Instagram post that "personal reasons" were to blame for the Logan Square culinary darling's unexpected demise.

The rather cryptic explanation left my curiosity unsatisfied. And, as I expected, public records showed Quiote's "personal" troubles weren't private.

Salls didn't respond to my request to talk about what went wrong. His attorney, Michael Kralovec, declined to comment except to say, "The restaurant is closed."



According to court records, Quiote's parent companies controlled by Salls struggled to keep up with debts and battled with a disgruntled investor as the restaurant gained a loyal regulars and international acclaim. In 2017, Jake Miller, who owned a 10.5 percent stake in The Salsa Truck, Salls' former food-truck business, alleged in a lawsuit that his former business partner engaged in deceptive business practices, Cook County court records show.