Bellecour, Gavin Kaysen's four-star French bistro and bakery in Wayzata, has closed permanently.
Kaysen announced the closure Thursday in an e-mail from his Soigné Hospitality Group and on social media.
"As you know, the future of the hospitality profession has been rocked and will continue to be rocked by the pandemic," he wrote. " ... Over the last four months, we have done everything we can to pivot, adapt and change models in an effort to support the community, provide meaningful work for our team, and have a space to welcome you back to once again.
"As the days and weeks have gone by, we have realized that in a location that is so dependent on seasonal success we are losing more than we can sustain. When the pandemic came, it was just as we were gearing up for the season, and our ability to bounce back has been extremely limited.
"As a result, we have come to the painful decision to close Bellecour effective immediately," Kaysen continued. "The loss of this restaurant fills me with sadness and frustration, but I remain humbled by the overwhelming support from my management team and guests."
Bellecour opened in 2017, the second Minnesota effort from the James Beard Award-winning chef and restaurateur, who had previously won accolades for Spoon and Stable in Minneapolis.
In his review, Star Tribune restaurant critic Rick Nelson called Bellecour "the rare Twin Cities restaurant that knows exactly what it is — in this case, a straight-up, modern French bistro — and then goes about the business of doing what it does very, very well."
It was an already eventful week for the restaurant and Kaysen's company. A pop-up Bellecour bakery, featuring the handiwork of pastry chef Diane Moua, opened Monday in Minneapolis, across the street from Kaysen's Spoon and Stable.
