Conduit on the Closure: "We Took a Chance"

On Wednesday morning, the news broke that Conduit had decided to call it quits after its two-year run on the upper stretch of Valencia. For more on the high-profile closure, we turn to the restaurant's managing partner, Brian Gavin, who shares some insight into the ambitions of Conduit:

When the economy was good, business was great. When the economy was bad, business was up and down, and the space was a 110 seats, which needed to be full. Some have said we were too ambitious, but why would we do pizza next to a great pizza place that has been there for 20 years? Why would we do a burger on the menu (Zeitgeist has a great $5 burger)? Why would you do the usual rustic cuisine when you have someone like Justin Deering?

We were ambitious on purpose; extremely talented young chef, cool modern design, and a professional and very nice floorstaff, as well as a fantastic bartender/bar program ... We took a chance, which in a great economy makes us look smart and in a poor dining economy, well, makes us close.