Maura O’Sullivan, chef and co-owner of Majestic café and bar, is leaving the Burlington restaurant she and business partner Sam Tolstoi launched together in the South End in late November. O’Sullivan, 59, said she needed more schedule flexibility to care for family members.
In an email, O’Sullivan added that she was grateful to the team and “proud of what we’ve created.” She will be replaced as Majestic’s chef by Micah Tavelli, 33, a 2024 James Beard Foundation semifinalist for Best Chef: Northeast for his menu at the now-closed Paradiso Hi-Fi in Burlington. Tolstoi, 39, said he will become the restaurant’s sole owner.
The transition will start in mid-May with the two chefs overlapping, followed by a gradual shift to a new menu by Tavelli. The goal remains to provide “casual fare with Micah’s twist on it,” Tolstoi said. “If you have to plate anything with tweezers, this is not the place for that,” he added with a laugh.
Since Paradiso Hi-Fi shuttered abruptly in July, Tavelli has been cooking at various Chittenden County restaurants and doing pop-up events as Into the Wolf’s Mouth. Most recently, he has spent a couple of months at Leo & Co. in Essex.
Tavelli said he is excited to have a place to cook his own food again. “I just want to cook good food at a place I can be happy to come to work,” he said. “Snacky and fun is what I’m going for.”
The original print version of this article was headlined “Majestic Co-Owner Maura O’Sullivan Steps Away”
This article appears in Apr 30 – May 6, 2025.
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