The Benevolent King, the acclaimed Moroccan-inspired restaurant that remade itself into a noteworthy sushi restaurant, has closed in Maplewood.
Owner Ben Poremba on social media Wednesday.
"Unfortunately, the (Benevolent) King never truly recovered after our pandemic-related closure," the announcement said.
Poremba opened the Benevolent King in 2018 at 7268 Manchester Road. The original menu featured Moroccan-inspired dishes.
After a pandemic hiatus, the restaurant reopened in 2021 with Eliott Harris as executive chef. Harris, a sushi chef, introduced some Japanese ingredients and techniques to the Moroccan menu.
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Earlier this year, Poremba and Harris changed the menu to feature sushi. Only this week, I included the Benevolent King on my list of the 10 ºüÀêÊÓƵ sushi restaurants you must visit now.
Poremba said the Benevolent King will be available for purchase in the next few weeks.
"We want to thank our teams, present and past, and the community of diners who continue to dine with us," the announcement said.
Meanwhile, Poremba has opened two new restaurants this year, Esca and Florentin, both in the Delmar Maker District along Delmar Boulevard.
Poremba is also in the process of relocating three existing restaurants — Nixta, Elaia and Olio — to the Delmar Maker District. An update included with Wednesday's announcement said Nixta is slated to open in its new location this fall, while Elaia and Olio will reopen in early spring of next year.