Porch & Swing, the Southern-style restaurant in Irvine that opened during the lockdown in 2020, closed its doors for good on Saturday, April 6.
“While we are sad to see them go, we are excited about the opportunity to bring something new to Centerview,” said Kameron Hadley, property coordinator of Emmes Realty Services of California, in a written statement.
No word yet as to why the 4-year-old restaurant shuttered.
Located at Centerview, nestled between Main Street and the 405 in the Irvine business district in a renovated space that once housed a hamburger joint, Porch & Swing featured chef Justin Werner (who worked for several years in the kitchen at Playground in Santa Ana, and before in New York City under the tutelage of Thomas Keller, Tom Colicchio and Paul Liebrandt) and his homage to the Lowcountry cooking of South Carolina.
SEE ALSO: Tony Monaco, restaurateur behind the Blind Pig, opening Italian spot in Irvine
“The packaging and presentation of Porch & Swing’s takeout was as professional as anything I discovered in recent months,” wrote Orange County Register food critic Brad Johnson in a glowing 2020 review. “Werner’s food isn’t simple. Every dish is a mandate of contrasting textures and flavors, and to that end many of those components needed to be combined at the very last minute. Thus, each dish came presented as a puzzle to be assembled at home. It was great fun.”
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In 2022, chef Alan Sanz, who previously held roles as executive chef at Gracias Madre in Newport Beach and Sueños in Laguna Beach, among others, took over as lead chef at Porch & Swing.
A yet-to-be announced restaurant will take over the Porch & Swing space later this year.
Most recently, Tony Monaco, the restaurateur behind such Orange County spots as the Blind Pig and the Trough, announced plans to open Monaco Italian Kitchen inside Centerview. Look for it to open late summer/early fall.
