Cadet in Santa Monica to Close in Early January

Having barely surpassed its first year of business, it looks like Cadet in Santa Monica will succumb to an early 2016 shutter.

Reps for the French-leaning restaurant confirm the closure date as being January 9, when chef Kris Tominaga and partner Jeff Weinstein (The Counter, Freddy Smalls) will be shutting things down. Apparently the casual small plates restaurant, which focused on wood-fired cooking and a strong cocktail program, wasn’t making enough cash to sustain itself in the always-changing Santa Monica market.

Despite a strong early showing and chef of note working the kitchen, Cadet mostly earned middling reviews from Besha Rodell at the Weekly and Jonathan Gold at the Times, and during a recent busy Friday night at the restaurant Tominaga was noticeably absent from the kitchen.

It looks like the space will continue on at least, with Weinstein spinning off the address into something new. No word on what the new concept will be, but a late spring 2016 arrival is expected. If you’d like to eat your last respects for the relatively short-lived Cadet, you can make reservations between now and January 9.