It's not often that you eat at a restaurant on its last day. I unwittingly stumbled into this situation last week.

On Thursday, I went to Good Eats to update its happy hour for Cowtown Eats. The staff was chipper and there was no sign of its impending closure.

On Friday night, I got an e-mail from a good friend lamenting its demise. Impossible, I thought. It was just opened yesterday.

But when I got there on Saturday morning, it was indeed closed. Butcher paper covered the windows. (See photo above.) The sign above the door had been painted over. A private security guard sat in the parking lot, presumably to guard the equipment inside the now shuttered store, and a man (who looked like a contractor) waited in the parking lot said that they were closed, and it was abrupt.

It was clearly abrupt. On Friday, Good Eats' Facebook page still invited people to come on down for their Friday Deck Day. On Saturday, their Twitter feed still tempted people out of bed with promises of delicious french toast.

But almost one year after it opened, it closed its doors for good.

I e-mailed one of my contacts at the store, and the note back said "Good Eats has closed its doors until further notice. Any questions, comments or concerns should be directed to (916) 475-1222 or [email protected]." The phone number is the general number to Good Eats, which just goes to voice mail, and e-mails to that address were not returned over the weekend.

So all we can do now is guess as to why Good Eats went out of business. One of the founders of Good Eats was a former CEO of Raley's. With such a pedigree, you'd think they knew what they were doing.

But I think Greg Lucas's review of Good Eats in Sac News & Review may have said it best.

Good Eats is aptly named. Its fare isn’t bad. It’s not great. And “Kinda Good Eats,” “Sorta Good Eats” or “Mediocre Eats” ain’t gonna fill the tables.

I'd visited the place 3 times since it opened a year ago. Every time, it was empty or nearly empty.

So Good Eats joins a growing list of Sacramento restaurants that have closed lately - Spin Burger Bar, L Wine Lounge, CPK, Brew It Up and Pause Lounge in Roseville.

Now that it's closed, my thoughts immediately turn to what should happen to that spot next. I hope it becomes the new home of another Selland's Market Cafe. They may be stretched thin as they work to open a new location in El Dorado Hills and as they investigate the former home of the Market at Pavillion's, but this is a perfect spot for them. Their food is fantastic, the location is convenient for those who live in East Sac, Curtis Park and Land Park, and the infrastructure for a Sellands-type restaurant is already there. But then again, that could just be me being selfish.

* Update at 8:30 a.m. Good Eats posted a statement on their Facebook Page.

Thank you, for your generous support over the last year. Unfortunately, Good Eats was forced to close its doors on August 13th for the last time. We appreciate you making Good Eats all it has been in this community.

Please be understanding, we could not comment on this matter previously and there will be no further comments made at this time.

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