ROSCOE VILLAGE — Prepare for a lot of cranky people suffering from doughscuit withdrawal in the wake of Endgrain's announcement that it has "closed until further notice."
While the rest of Chicago's dining scene was fixated on Tuesday's Michelin rankings, Endgrain, 1851 W. Addison St., quietly spread the news of its closure via the restaurant's Facebook and Twitter feeds.
A message was also written in chalk on a sandwich board placed inside Endgrain's darkened doorway: "Sorry for the inconvenience. Check back with us soon!"
The move caught diners by surprise. The restaurant had, as recently as Nov. 5, been encouraging patrons to stop in for doughnuts over the coming weekend, and was still promoting its winter hours on Twitter the same day its Facebook page informed people of the closing.
A seating chart for Sunday's brunch, dated Nov. 9, was still visible through the restaurant's window Tuesday night.
Fans of Endgrain, which opened in June 2013, took to social media to express their dismay.
"WHAT!!???? NOOOOOOO!!!!!" read one comment on Facebook. "Is it April fools day?" wrote another.
Owners Enoch and Caleb Simpson did not respond to requests for comment regarding the sudden closing.
Endgrain was a labor of love for the Simpson brothers, who meticulously built much of the restaurant themselves including the bar, which they pieced together from hundreds of pieces of reclaimed wood.
The menu changed seasonally, with the star of the show arguably Enoch's doughnut-biscuit mashup, the doughscuit. The pastry earned Endgrain Best Donut at January's inaugural Donut Fest.
Sweets lover can only wonder whether the Simpsons and their doughscuit — a fried honey-glazed biscuit, filled with creme fraiche and vanilla pastry cream developed in response to the cronut craze — will rise again.
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