Closings

What Happened to Bon Savor?

Bon Savor's old digs.
Bon Savor’s old digs.

We’re excited for Krista Kranyak’s Grass Fed Burger Bar to open any day now, but it’s a bittersweet milestone for Jamaica Plain: Her restaurant will occupy the space that once housed neighborhood favorite Bon Savor, which closed suddenly and under strange circumstances.

The Globe offers an in-depth look at what went wrong for Ibonne Zabala and Oleg Konovalov, now living in their home country of Colombia after a series of visa woes:

“Bon Savor’s slow death began in September 2009, when Zabala, Konovalov, and their baby son flew to Bogota to see her family. Those who know the couple say they had reviewed their paperwork to make sure everything was current, and they had every intention of returning. But when they attempted to fly back two weeks later, Zabala and Konovalov learned from the US Embassy in Bogota that their visas had been revoked because they had failed to maintain the requirements of the documents.”

The couple maintains that they did everything they could; for now, they remain in Colombia. But there might be a silver lining: They want to return to the United States and maybe, just maybe, reopen their beloved Bon Savor. Here’s hoping.

The Story Behind Bon Savor’s Closing [Globe]

What Happened to Bon Savor?