What Happened to Vivas?

The recent and sudden closure of has left many in Belmar pondering.

The award winning eatery has been a Belmar Plaza mainstay since late-2007, when chef/owner Will Vivas left Asbury Park's Bistro Ole to start on his own.

The restaurant received many accolades including a shining 2008 review from noted New York Times food writer David Corcoran who was critical the restaurants location and accommodations, but praised the food.

Zagat Survey also honored Vivas with the title of Best Spanish Restaurant in New Jersey.

While rumors swirl in the local restaurant community — some saying that employees arrived for their shifts to find the restaurant locked — there is little concrete information.

Vivas himself was unreachable by phone. The restaurant's main line is still connected, but several attempted calls have yielded no answer or voicemail pick-up. The website, www.vivasrestaurant.com, is still up and makes no mention of the closure. Their online reservation page at www.opentable.com is temporarily offline.

This isn't the first time the restaurant has closed suddenly.

In August 2009, diners were left puzzled when Vivas was closed with a note left on the door explaining that there had been an emergency. They would hold a grand re-opening weeks later.

Until their recent closing, Vivas had been offering customers 50 percent off their entire check between 5 and 7 p.m. Monday through Friday.

The restaurant was also recently featured on the "deal-of-the-day" website www.groupon.com. It is unclear at this time if consumers will be reimbursed.