"In retrospect, I never should have kept the Mel's name and I should have insisted on doing food that I wanted to do, but Mel told me that I needed to continue to do his food, so I did, and now I want to do mine, and that means moving out and moving on," said Clevenger, who, as you may recall, just erected a pig cart, aptly called the Porker, at 17th and California, which will continue to snort for the long haul.
Mel's, on the other hoof, will close after service this Saturday, and according to Clevenger, there won't be any fanfare. "We'll finish out the weekend, but I won't be doing any specials on Saturday night," said Clevenger. "I'll throw a little party for my staff -- they deserve it -- and that'll be it."
But that doesn't mean that Clevenger is done with restaurants. "I'm definitely looking for investors, and I'd love to do a restaurant downtown where I can cook good food -- my food -- things like halibut cheeks and pork cheeks and whatever the hell else I feel like cooking," he said. "I want to show people what I've got."
We'll be waiting.
