A popular wine bar in Dallas' Deep Ellum has closed, literally overnight: Postino Wine Cafe, the drinky hangout from Phoenix-based hospitality group Upward Projects, closed its location at 2639 Main St. on February 28.

Although the restaurant was still posting updates on its social media, it had already closed and cleaned out its space with lightning speed by March 1.

A manager for the restaurant confirmed that it had closed but did not offer an explanation why. Company founder Lauren Bailey was not available for comment, but a representative offered this statement:

"It's been an amazing journey serving the Deep Ellum community, but yes, we've made the difficult decision to discontinue operations at this location in order to focus on new growth. Texas has been and continues to be a place that truly aligns with who we are as a company, and we're excited to open additional locations in the future."

A bit short on the kind of details we live for, but there you have it.

The closure came as a surprise to neighboring businesses. However, the space had reportedly been on the market, quietly, in the real estate realm for a month.

This was the first Postino location in Dallas. It opened in April 2021 with a menu built around shareables, panini, salads, soups, and boards. It had a big selection of bruschetta including Brie, Apple & Fig Spread, plus charcuterie boards, panini, and a bar featuring 30 wines by the glass and 40 wines by the bottle.

The restaurant was well liked and earned many nods including best places with dishes to share, and was a Top 10 nominee for Best Wine Program in CultureMap's Tastemaker Awards in 2021 and 2022 and a nod as one of Dallas' 5 best bars for wine or beer.

Deep Ellum seemed like a good fit for Upward, a company known for its artful restoration of historically relevant buildings in fun, funky neighborhoods like Deep Ellum and re-purposing older buildings already in existence, beginning with the first Postino, located in an old post office in Arizona — making every Postino unique.

The company has not stopped opening locations, including one slated to open in Southlake in mid-2023. There are currently five in Houston with another opening in the Woodlands, and one penciled in for Austin, as well.