The Clayton restaurant from a top Triangle chef will close this weekend

The first casual restaurant from an acclaimed Triangle chef will close in Johnston County after being sold to a quickly growing restaurant group.

Crawford Cookshop , the Clayton outpost of Raleigh chef Scott Crawford , announced this week that the Main Street restaurant has been sold to the Mezcalito group of Mexican restaurants.

“We have enjoyed our time in Clayton and appreciate the community’s support,” Crawford wrote in a statement announcing the sale. “At this time, our focus is in other markets. Cookshop’s last service will be Saturday, October 5th. We look forward to hosting our valued guests at Crawford & Son, Jolie, Sous Terre and Brodeto in Raleigh, at Crawford’s Genuine in RDU airport, and at Crawford Brother’s Steakhouse in Fenton later this year.”

When it opened in 2021, Crawford Cookshop was the third restaurant from Scott Crawford, whose other spots, Crawford & Son and Jolie, were among Raleigh’s top spots for an upscale meal. In Cookshop, Crawford veered into Americana and more casual dining , serving fried chicken and smoked chicken wings and a burger, along with larger plates like a grilled pork chop or hanger steak.

The restaurant represented a shift in dining during the pandemic, as chefs and diners leaned into comfort food.

In his closing announcement, Crawford said the Mezcalito group would take over the space. Mezcalito is best known for its line of popular modern Mexican restaurants, with locations in Durham, Clayton, Apex and Henderson. In recent years, Mezcalito has partnered with chef Oscar Diaz in opening Little Bull , with more projects on the way, including the Durham taqueria Tataco .

“We are excited to have found a great buyer for this location in Chef Oscar Diaz and Mezcalito Group, Inc., who purchased it, and will be introducing a new concept,” Crawford said in the statement.

As of publication, there are still reservations for the final two nights of Crawford Cookshop.