After closing in June due to the Covid-19 pandemic, La Belle Helene will not reopen. Parliament Espresso & Coffee Bar has also permanently closed. La Belle Helene, a French restaurant centered around rotisserie cooking, was opened by international catering service company Elior and Starr Catering on the ground floor of the tower on North Tryon Street where the company is headquartered. Starr Catering later became Constellation Culinary Group.

“Constellation Culinary Group, which opened La Belle Helene in 2018, is no longer operating the restaurant or the Parliament coffee shop at 300 S. Tryon, effective immediately,” Elior said in a statement. “Various operators have expressed interest in leasing the restaurant space. The Parliament coffee shop brand will remain under the Constellation portfolio.”

The website for La Belle Helene and social media accounts for both concepts have been taken down.

The renovation for La Belle Helene was expensive and long-lasting, with the restaurant’s soaring interiors and custom woodwork helping to create one of the most beautiful dining rooms in town. However, the restaurant battled issues at the beginning, including high turnover and inconsistent experiences, as well as poor health inspection scores. The opening chef was Michael Rouleau, who left the restaurant and was replaced by former Halcyon chef Jim Stouffer.

Famed chef Alain Ducasse’s consulting brand was brought on to help with the project, and came with a high-profile visit from Ducasse for media night. According to that company, Ducasse Conseil, the restaurant served 350 covers a day during from 2017 to 2019, and revenue was 50 percent higher than projected. Uptown restaurants have been hit particularly hard by Covid-19.

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