It's been a wild few months for The Revival, the new restaurant housed in the former Mucho Gusto space in Tempe. After a whirlwind renovation and re-launch the restaurant opened to lukewarm success, and after four months pivoting from a New American menu to one focusing on Mexican cuisine.
Now, only about eight months after opening, the restaurant faces another big change up. According to a post on chef Kelly Fletcher's Facebook page, the former executive chef is no longer at the restaurant.
See also: Kelly Fletcher of The Revival on Why He's Playing It Safe
The post from Saturday, February 21 on the chef's page aays:
To all of my friends, family, fans and supporters. Recently I parted ways as the executive chef/partner of The Revival in Tempe. I'm sure that rumors are abound and talk is creeping through the cracks in the walls, I'm stumbling into those lately. As it stands, I'll still be trying to push myself daily and make myself and others happy through what I do. Chefs life, it's always changing.
In June former Mucho Gusto owner Chad Withycombe announced plans to remake the Mexican restaurant into a new dining spot called The Revival. In less than a month, Withycombe had completed a physical renovation of the building.
Fletcher, as executive chef, implemented an eclectic New American menu for the new restaurant.
But after four months and less-than-stellar reception from customers and media, Fletcher and Withycombe announced they would be changing the menu to offer Mexican fare. The new menu blended Fletcher's unique brand of global cuisine with classic Mexican fare for a result that was both approachable and fresh.
Prior to joining The Revial, Flethcher built a fan base of Tempe diners at House of Tricks. He was at that restaurant for about 10 years and left in February 2014.