Riva Shutters, New Branch of Fraiche Moves In

Squid Ink reports that Jason Travi chef and partner in Fraiche (Culver City) and Riva (Santa Monica) will open a new outpost of Fraiche next Wednesday October 14. However, here is the real scoop. What's actually going on is that on October 14 Riva will cease to exist and a second outpost of Fraiche will take over the large open dining space that is 312 Wilshire Blvd. Ironically, we happened to dine at Fraiche (original location) last night and were tipped off when a manager told us "major" things were happening on the Riva front. However, we thought he was referring to the stuzzichini menu switcheroo, but that was a while back and he didn't confirm or deny our speculation. Anyway, both team Fraiche and team Riva are remaining tight lipped (we did LOTS of digging to score this scoop) but there is another odd twist to this story. Late last week we started hearing rumors that Jason Travi might have left Fraiche/Riva and last night when we inquired about this we were told he is on a two month vacation with his wife and new baby and that "hopefully" he will return afterward. New restaurant is set to open but a co-owner is out of town? Sketchy. So, what's the real deal? Tips are welcome in the comments section. [EaterWire]