Owner Misti Norris. Photo by Kathy Tran.
The Lakewood Shopping Center restaurant Petra and the Beast has closed its doors, as of Sunday, Dec. 29.
The eatery is located in the former Lakewood Smokehouse space off of Abrams Road and Gaston Avenue , a location that owner Misti Norris attributes to the restaurant’s decline in a Facebook post.
Norris cited the larger space as the cause of her feeling “stuck” and “torn between” her desire to be in the kitchen, creating and “the reality of having to make compromises to the restaurant,” in order to meet the demand of a larger audience.
In 2019, Norris was on Food & Wine’s “Best New Chef” list and became a semifinalist for a James Beard award, within one year of opening Petra and the Beast. Norris shared that this announcement was not just the end of a chapter, but the beginning of something new.
“I look forward to moving into a space where I can stay true to my core values as a chef and a team, one where creativity, connection and soul come first,” she wrote.
