Eric Ripert Pulls Out of His DC Restaurant Westend Bistro

Eric Ripert announced today that he's pulling out of his Washington, DC, restaurant Westend Bistro by Eric Ripert. Ripert's team opened in DC five years ago, but Washington Post critic Tom Sietsema reports that Ripert's name will be dropped from signage as of January 1. It seems that the restaurant will go on operating as Westend Bistro under its new chef Devin Bozkaya, and Ripert tells the critic that it's all on good terms. He also says he'll now turn his focus to "Le Bernardin and other projects" — including perhaps something new in New York?

Anyway, Ripert is just the latest chef to abandon ship on his hotel restaurant. In August, Alain Ducasse shuttered his miX outpost at the W Hotel in Vieques, Puerto Rico, while Tom Colicchio closed Craft at the W Hotel in Dallas earlier in the summer. And back in 2011, Daniel Boulud closed both of his Vancouver hotel-based restaurants. Ripert still has Ritz-Carlton-housed restaurants in Philadelphia and Grand Cayman.

· Chef Eric Ripert bids adieu to Westend Bistro [WaPo]
· All Eric Ripert Coverage on Eater [-E-]