Neighborhood Charmer Joli Returns in Ballard, But Will Its Momentum?

Upscale Ballard neighborhood restaurant Joli has announced intentions to return June 5, scheduling an end to an indefinite hiatus that began after chef and co-owner Amy Beaumier’s last day in the kitchen, April 28. “We’ll be back Tuesday June 5 with expanded hours and a menu reset. See you soon!” the official Instagram account posted May 20, though it’s not clear yet who’ll be in charge of the kitchen or what the new menu and hours will look like. Beaumier and a general contact for the restaurant did not respond immediately to requests for comment.

Beaumier wouldn’t give further details when she revealed her departure from the kitchen April 27, and initially the restaurant posted on Instagram it would be closed for just a few days from April 29 to May 4. But on May 4 the account shared a more vague timeline, saying, “Joli will reopen soon, date to be announced.” Taken together, these events painted an ominous picture.

Even with its reopening imminent, Joli will likely face a challenge regaining the brief momentum it experienced from a largely positive but now, perhaps, irrelevant Seattle Met review praising “Beaumier’s prodigious work ethic [that drives] Joli’s most successful dishes,” like the ricotta cavatelli with braised rabbit. Closing abruptly and revamping with a new chef after less than a year, and just after an attention-grabbing, chef-focused review, is not an easy thing to recover from.

• Joli [Instagram]
• Joli [Official website]
• All Coverage of Joli [ESEA]
• Review: The Evolution of Joli [Seattle Met]