A rendering of Isabella eatery, ahead of its 2017 opening. (Image courtesy of Streetsense)

Update: Mike Isabella has made the closure of Isabella Eatery official. The chef emailed a statement saying that his food hall will shut down today. Here’s the text, per Washingtonian:

Our outstanding team pursued a very big dream….. to present several of our restaurant concepts to the public under one roof. Sadly, it didn’t work out as we’d hoped. I cannot express in words how hard we strived to achieve success and how proud I am of the selfless effort which was put forth by our team members. I will be eternally grateful for the commitment to excellence they demonstrated, especially during times when it would have been easy for any one of them to have simply walked away. …

Restaurants close when their operating expenses exceed the revenues the restaurants generate. Isabella Eatery is no exception. We were doing our best to operate 9 restaurant units at the highest level in a very large space on the 3rd floor of a retail center. Perhaps Isabella Eatery missed the mark because I became too impressed with myself and thought I make anything work. Perhaps it was because of the way I presented our offerings at Tysons Galleria. Perhaps the space was too grand or perhaps the dining public was just not as excited as we were about a ‘restaurant emporium’ like the one we tried to provide. Whatever the reasons, we gave it our best shot.

As painful as it is to try to ride out a storm, to see a dream thwarted, to see good people lose an investment- and to then reflect candidly at one’s own role in that dream’s demise- I can promise that our team and I will continue to dream of better days ahead, and will work like hell to turn those dreams into reality. The fundamentals remain intact. Our operational skills are solid, our food is still terrific and our team is STILL THE BEST THERE IS.”

Original: After a sexual assault lawsuit from a former employee and a slew of restaurant closures, Mike Isabella’s bad year continues.

The chef and restaurateur’s massive food hall, Isabella Eatery is closing on Sunday, two employees told the Washington Post. The employees spoke on the condition on anonymity, saying they had signed nondisclosure agreements.

Isabella told the Post that he’s negotiating with Isabella Eatery’s landlord to keep the food hall open. ““Everything is day-to-day,” he said. “We’re still open, and we’re still fighting. That’s the mentality.”

The 41,000-square-foot hall opened in December to great fanfare, featuring restaurants based on his versions of his acclaimed eateries, including Kapnos, Arroz, Requin, and Graffiato. Since the opening, Isabella Eatery has scaled back its operations, combining the restaurants into one menu that operates out of Graffiato’s kitchen.

Earlier this month, Washingtonian revealed the extent of Isabella Eatery’s financial woes, reporting that some employees received paychecks that bounced, and others had been let go.

Isabella told the magazine he expanded the business too quickly to be sustainable. But he also blamed a recent sexual assault lawsuit for his troubles, saying “some accusations came out, and sales dropped a lot.” The chef was sued in March by a former manager at Isabella Eatery for “extraordinary” sexual harassment. He settled the suit for an undisclosed sum.

Since that news broke, Isabella’s professional connections have distanced themselves from him, the Post reported. He was disqualified from the District’s RAMMY Awards; his food stands were replaced at Nationals Park; and colleagues have severed ties, including chef Michael Rafidi of Arroz and Requin, and Jennifer Resick Williams, his publicist. Eater and the Washington Post have also omitted him from their dining guides.

His restaurants have also suffered. If Isabella Eatery does indeed close, it will be the fourth Isabella property to shut down this year, following the shuttering of Requin in Mosaic District and Graffiato locations in Richmond and D.C.

Isabella Eatery employees told the Post that their supervisors told them the hall would close on Sunday. They said they had signed nondisclosure agreements with Mike Isabella Concepts, the chef’s restaurant group. Caras’ lawsuit also alleged that the company’s use of NDAs has prevented employees from speaking out about sexual harassment.

The Post also spoke to a commercial real estate agent, also anonymous, who said that he was contacted by the owner of Tysons Galleria to seek new tenants for the food hall.