Pura Vida Closing its Doors

Pura Vida, the Poncey-Highland tapas restaurant and bar, will close with the end of the year, according to an announcement on its Facebook page.

Chef Hector Santiago and his wife, Leslie, thanked the community in the announcement posted Tuesday evening:

"We want to thank all of our fans for 12 years of living the Pura Vida! We are sorry to tell you that we will be closing Pura Vida at the end of this year, with December 31st being our last day of service. The continued support throughout the years from our loyal fans and our staff has meant the world to us."

Hector Santiago opened Pura Vida in April 2001, after working in several other Atlanta restaurants. In a September 2011 interview with Patch, he said:

"I really want to push all Latin American products from food to drinks to the actual spirits themselves. Even the people that work here are mostly Latino. I want to put a foot forward for my culture as a whole."

The Santiagos say they are looking for partners or investors as the explore new ventures.

In May, the couple shuttered their Super Pan Sandwich Shop, which operated out of the same building as Pura Vida, citing insufficient foot traffic to support the Latino sandwich operation.

See also:

You Can't Keep a Great Chef Down