Sprout Loses Another Restaurant as Nuance Shutters in Santa Barbara

More tough news for the Sprout restaurant group, as news comes down from Santa Barbara that Nuance on State Street has closed its doors. The redone restaurant, which was for a time run by Ricardo Zarate under the name Blue Tavern, lasted less than one year.

The shutter was first announced last week by Noozhawk in Santa Barbara, who noticed that the eatery had suddenly locked the doors well in advance of its May anniversary. A note posted to the restaurant’s website says simply "thank you for a great run," with a photo of opening chef (and Central Coast native) Courtney Ladin as background.

What’s next for the space in Santa Barbara’s hip Funk Zone neighborhood is anyone’s guess, as in the past tenants have had a hard time holding on. Perhaps more interestingly is the tie to Sprout, which has shed several properties since the departure of founder Bill Chait not long ago.