. . The award-winning Lark restaurant on Farmington Road in West Bloomfield is closing.
Owners Jim and Mary Lark are retiring and will shut Dec. 23, Sylvia Rector of the Detroit Free Press reports.
They opened 35 years ago “because of an overwhelming interest in food, and a desire to create magic and serve as perfect hosts," they say in a statement. The couple hopes to sell the restaurant and its notable wine cellar.
The Lark is one of six Michigan restaurants with a "Four Diamonds" rating (second-highest) from AAA, whch it has earned annually since 1990. It also was twice named restaurant of the year by Hour Detroit, the only local winner honored more than once.
"I'm not immortal and it's time to relax," Jim Lark, 84, tells DBusiness editor R.J. King.
"We'll miss one and all. Thank you to our patrons and staff for 35 wonderful years. We'll miss our employees. They're the best. The longest-serving are like family."
