Blu in Montclair Expected to Close

Blu Chef Zod Arifai told NJ Monthly that he is grateful for the customers that have supported his restaurant over the years, but part of the reason for Blu’s potential shutdown is changing demographics.

As a BYO, younger people on the restaurant scene in Montclair are less inclined to bring their own drinks.

“Younger people, say 25 to 45, are not into BYOs. They want to order cocktails and craft beers,” Arifai told NJ Monthly. “Older customers like to bring their best wines, but they eat out less often. In New York, the idea of high-level food in a super casual space is understood. Here, it doesn’t quite click.”

Blu’s closing does not mean the end of Arfai’s other endeavor, Next Door. “I might open more Next Doors in other Jersey towns,” Arifai told NJ Monthly. “One hundred percent of the population understands that food.”

Although he may be looking to New York for an answer, NJ Monthly reports that Arifai would remain in New Jersey if he is able to purchase “the building that houses Blu and its more casual, lower priced, offshoot, Next Door.” Should this happen, he would convert the entire building into Next Door.

Blu will remain open until at least December 31 of this year but is likely to close when the lease expires in March 2015, reports NJ Monthly.

Blu, which opened in October of 2005 features Modern American Cuisine with French, Italian and Asian Influences.