A reader sent this photo in this morning with a note that read: “Wow. And the Yaletown carnage continues. This is what I found when I went to grab breakfast at Sweeney’s this morning.” The tiny restaurant – which was not even a year old yet – was located next to Blue Water Cafe (1091 Hamilton). It billed itself as a “scrappy independent”. I checked it out in the summer for the paper and remember it being a mixed bag of just alright.

I wish the best for these newcomers, but I still can’t help but wonder if the age of new and independent restaurants in Yaletown has come and gone. I really hope not, and think that if Sweeney’s can make a solid go of it, they might inspire others to follow in their footsteps to thrive among the behemoths.

Yeah, well…so much for that. The closure looks like it was something of a midnight scramble. Their website is down but their Twitter feed is still up, and they were still tweeting up until New Year’s Eve. They closed for “staff holidays” on December 22nd with a promise to re-open on January 3rd, which is tomorrow. But by the looks of the photo above, that probably ain’t gonna happen. Shame.

UPDATE: Word is they’re looking to reopen somewhere else.

UPDATE: Blue Water Cafe has taken over the space with plans to turn it into an exclusive private room.