Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
The interior at Mayana Mexican Kitchen
Two Clayton restaurants recently shuttered: Charred Crust closed last month, and Mayana Mexican Kitchen announced today that it's closed (although the restaurant had not been fully operational since late March).
Photo by George Mahe
Andrew Simon and Jimmy Flemming, the two lead chefs of the former Scape, opened Charred Crust in August of last year. The duo’s shared vision was the use of blistering and charring to create different flavor profiles, hence their focus on brick-oven–baked pizzas and sandwiches presented on charred baguettes. The 32-seat restaurant was only open at lunch; the fare had been well-received. An equipment auction was held at Charred Crust last night. Simon says the space may already have a new tenant.
Mayana Mexican Kitchen was a small, splashy, fast-casual spinoff from the owners of Hacienda in Rock Hill. The concept combined several trusted recipes from Hacienda with add-ins that were different from similar fast-casual Mexican restaurants (a variety beans, different rice options, bolder sauces) and delivered them quickly to a Clayton clientele that was often strapped for time. The restaurant was open for just over four years.
Mayana announced the closure this morning on Facebook. Owner Alex Rodriguez de Torres says the news comes with mixed emotions: “Our lease expired on September 15, so we had a tough decision to make. Since a lot of the businesses around us plan to telework at least until the end of the year and with catering just beginning to come back, we thought it best to just close instead of continuing with a month-to-month lease heading into an uncertain time.
“We loved Clayton and loved being in Clayton,” she adds, “but with 17 seats, not much catering, and a pandemic, you do what you gotta do.”
Rodriguez de Torres says she’s fortunate to be able to operate Mayana’s catering operation (which had been 30 percent of its business) and group delivery from Hacienda's kitchen. She plans to continue doing so "until a better brick-and-mortar opportunity presents itself," she says.
Courtesy Mayana Mexican Kitchen
Rodriguez de Torres also reports that Mayana’s food truck will continue to make neighborhood visits, which has been a growing segment of that business. "Family kit dinners that serve four to five people have been the big seller," she says, "but we've also been partnering with schools, where we show up with meal kits on a given day and give 10 percent of the sales back to the school." (For additional catering/food truck information, click here.)
Mayana's Facebook post announcing the closure notes that "great things are coming for the future of Mayana... This is not goodbye!”
