L.A.B., College Street’s molecular kitchen, takes its last breath

L.A.B., College Street’s molecular kitchen, takes its last breath

(Image: Signe Langford)

Living and breathing no more, L.A.B., the often-experimental College Street restaurant, shuttered last week after two years. The reason? It turns out owner and chef Howard Dubrovsky has a mean case of creative ADD—that and, he admits, the College Street address might not have been the best business decision he’s ever made. “I just don’t think that end of College was the right spot for this concept. I can see a sushi place or something doing amazingly there, but it just wasn’t the right place for me.”

After two years in his molecularly inclined kitchen, the award-winning pastry chef is ready for something new, though he’s not sure what just yet. “I’ve had some interesting offers—I’m sort of imagining a dive bar, but then I think about the wine business, and I’d love to do a book, but mostly, right now, all I want to do is nap,” he tells us. “Closing a restaurant is like breaking up, there’re a lot of feelings. There’s some relief in not having to worry about all the little things that would keep me up at night but at the same time, I kind of don’t have a purpose right now.” L.A.B. was Dubrovsky’s first restaurant, and he soon discovered that as owner he was spending much of his 80-hour workweeks doing anything but cooking. “I did it all as needed: dishwashing, accounting, payroll, shopping for last-minute groceries.” So while he’s keeping mum about what the future holds, he is saying this much: “In my next venture, I’d like to be a cook again.”