Restaurant closes early after kitchen mishap.

Urban pL8 , the paleo friendly restaurant with a cult-like following on the Westside, reportedly had a serious kitchen catastrophe Sunday afternoon. The restaurant, located on Huff Road not far from Marietta Boulevard, was not accepting new customers as of approximately 1:35 PM Sunday afternoon. A ToNeTo Atlanta reader and patron of Urban Pl8 was one of many diners turned away from the restaurant. According to this reader, something went "haywire in the kitchen" and "the entire kitchen staff was fired on the spot."

Urban pL8 opened as normal at 10 AM for Sunday brunch service, but did not serve after approximately 1:30 PM (normal close is 4 PM for brunch service) and according to a restaurant employee, did not reopen for their Sunday Paleo Buffet, which normally runs 5 PM to 9:30 PM. Urban pl8 is not normally open Mondays or Tuesdays, but according to the employee, it "will hopefully be open" presumably with normal hours, on Wednesday. If in fact the entire kitchen staff was fired, this would seem to be a difficult schedule to maintain.

Additionally, Sunday nights are normally dedicated to preparing "to-go" meals that are then delivered to CrossFit gyms around town. It's unclear if this task was completed under the circumstances.

Urban pL8 was opened during the summer of 2009 by Betsy Pitts. Urban pL8 is Betsy’s first restaurant endeavor since her days as sous chef at Bacchanalia and Floataway Café. The restaurant was previously on my DeathWatch list, but has seemingly carved out a niche among Atlanta diners, especially Crossfit participants, willing to travel for her healthy fare.

Strangely, no message was left on either the restaurant's facebook page or on their voicemail to alert patrons to the issue and potentially delayed opening this week.

What is the strangest thing you've had happen to you at a restaurant? Do you think Urban pL8 can bounce back? What is your favorite Westside eatery?