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LULING — After the last customer is served on Valentine’s Day, SANTOS will close its doors for the last time. Due to a pending sale of the building where SANTOS is located and changing market conditions, the Sophisticated Hospitality Group has decided not to reopen SANTOS in another location and instead focus on their operations of Cloud9 Restaurant inside Cypress Lakes Country Club and Sophisticated Southern Plates, their growing catering and special events business.

SANTOS opened in August 2021 just nine days before Hurricane Ida brought complete devastation to the region surrounding the restaurant. Closed for a month, SANTOS reopened without internet, displaced staff, and broken supply lines for their products. Months later, a COVID resurgence dampened the holidays and was followed by the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine which caused global food price spikes and shortages.

Customers have four more chances to share a meal at SANTOS: Thursday-Saturday night this week and Valentine’s Day next week. Reservations are available online and through OpenTable.

“Since so much love was poured into the creation of SANTOS, we thought it would be appropriate for Valentine’s Day to be our last shift to serve the food and atmosphere you’ve come to enjoy and love. I learned so much through this process and look forward to the next exciting chapter for my passion for food,” said Executive Chef Natasha Clement.

“It is no secret that I love both Louisiana and Latin America, and what we created at SANTOS was a perfect blend of two amazing food cultures that allowed us to take the customer on a trip through each dish serving Louisiana roots, Latin Attitude,” said Buddy Boe, managing partner of Sophisticated Hospitality Group.

Final shifts will be 4:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 4:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Valentine’s Day night.