The restaurant opened in November 2022 in a historic Spanish mission-style building and previous funeral home in the Roosevelt Row district. The name, which translates to "without death," was a cheeky nod to the history of the space and a description of the plant-centric food. The theme filled the restaurant, which was painted dark greys and blacks.
The concept was brought to life by Instrumental Hospitality, the company behind Asian-inspired restaurant Belly which has locations in uptown Phoenix and Gilbert.
The closure comes roughly a month after Michael Babcock, the company's culinary director, stepped away from his role. Babcock co-founded Instrumental Hospitality and stepped down in order to spend more time with his family.
On Aug. 18, Sin Muerte's social media accounts displayed an announcement, sharing that the restaurant will close at the end of business one week later on Aug. 25.
"Con la muerte viene la nueva vida," the post started. "With death comes new life. To all of y'all who have supported us here at Sin Muerte, we appreciate the love from the bottom of our hearts."
The post went on to explain that the concept, described as "an experience that wasn't just plant-based, but that stood on its own as a different approach to the food scene," just didn't work out.
The menu was based on two main concepts. First, it was entirely vegetarian and many dishes could be made vegan. Second, it took inspiration from places around the globe that are situated on the 33rd parallel, a latitude that stretches from "Maricopa to Morocco," according to its website.
Dishes included cold dips such as hummus and a cashew yogurt dip with dates and honey. Hot dips included caramelized eggplant and mushroom fundido. Mushrooms were a star of the menu, prepared as calamari, stewed with cauliflower and folded into a creamy pasta.
The restaurant also had a full bar with creative cocktails such as the Notorious F.I.G. made with fig vodka, Japanese plum whiskey and spiced pear and the I Beg Your Garden which featured tomato gin, Aperol and charred pineapple.
Customers have a few more days to order their favorites, as the restaurant will remain open for dinner service through Friday night.
The closing announcement finished with a glimmer of hope for fans of the restaurant housed in historic digs, explaining that the team is working on a new and different concept for the space.
Sin Muerte
Closing after service on Aug. 25817 N. First Street
