The Sedgwick says goodbye; Downtown Vancouver restaurant set to close Friday after five years

May 4-The Sedgwick will close its doors Friday after nearly five years of serving dishes "inspired by Chef Tim McCusker's childhood, travels and life experiences," according to the restaurant's website.

The decision to close was precipitated by a number of factors, co-owner Melissa McCusker said, each of them challenging on their own but insurmountable when taken together. The last year and a half has been really tough for restaurants, Melissa McCusker said, and the Main Street Promise project has put a huge dent in customer traffic at many downtown Vancouver establishments.

"The construction that they're doing on Main Street is really not helping. It's gone on longer than everyone has expected," McCusker said. "I know that places have lost business because people drive by and don't see a place to park."

But the final nail in The Sedgwick's coffin, she said, was a significant rent raise. Melissa McCusker said the numbers just don't work anymore when rising food costs are factored in. High fertilizer prices have affected the cost of produce, and fuel prices affect how much it costs to grow and transport food.

"We had shishito peppers that were $30 a case, and the next week they were $130," Melissa McCusker said. "Tomatoes have gone from $30 or $40 a case to over $100 a case."

Gas prices also affect how far people are willing to drive, even to go to a restaurant they like, and there's less money in people's bank accounts to pay for the food once they get there.

Melissa McCusker said she understands that everyone is feeling the pinch, but "if you like a restaurant, you should go." Once you're there, be patient with servers and forgiving if everything isn't exactly right. It's financially untenable for restaurants to be as fully staffed with servers, bussers and kitchen workers as they used to be, she said.

Melissa McCusker said she and her husband deeply appreciate The Sedgwick's loyal customers. One of the best parts of owning a restaurant, she said, is sharing milestones with diners: anniversaries, engagements, baby showers, retirement celebrations and the like. She said she'll miss those gatherings at The Sedgwick; however, the McCuskers still will get to mark special occasions with guests at their other restaurant, Feast 316, which opened on New Year's Eve 2014 in downtown Camas.

Diners who miss the food at The Sedgwick can always come to Feast 316, Melissa McCusker said.

"There are definitely similarities. Bread pudding and truffle mac and cheese are already at Feast," she said. "Tim may have some plans for the yakitori grill (a long, narrow grill designed for cooking skewers), because he loves that thing."

The McCuskers opened their first restaurant, A Culinary Art Company, 25 years ago in Charleston, S.C., before moving in 2008 to the Northwest, where Tim worked at Portland's Vietnamese-Cajun restaurant Tapalaya.

In addition to Feast, they owned Harvest in downtown Camas, replaced in 2015 by their Cajun eatery, Miss Nola's Café, which closed in 2017. After The Sedgwick closes, Melissa McCusker said, they'll focus all their resources on Feast 316.

Some of The Sedgwick's staff may move to Feast 316, she said, but it's too soon to say how many might choose to do so. Some staff have been with The Sedgwick since it opened.

It's a bit of a shock, she said, and it's sad to leave the energy of the city and the good memories they've made in this location.

"I liked being in downtown Vancouver," Melissa McCusker said. "It has a good vibe. It's going to be great when they finish all the construction."

One other question remains to be answered: What will become of the slightly larger-than-life statue of Marilyn Monroe in "Some Like It Hot" that greets diners at The Sedgwick's entrance? Melissa McCusker said she's not sure. She and Tim did not purchase it themselves. It just showed up one day, dropped off by the former landlord of the building that houses Feast 316.

"I didn't know what to do with it," Melissa McCusker said. "She's ginormous. She just became a part of the restaurant."

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