They're dropping like flies, and this one's a real doozy: the Lost Lady American Cantina closed Friday night, less than three months after it opened -- and just in time to miss pouring mass quantities of tequila on Cinco de Mayo. That was some quick turnover for the space, home for nearly 20 years to the ailing Union Square Grill, whose parent company, Consolidated Restaurants, sold the restaurant in January.

The short-lived Lady's owner Dale Wamstad, the name behind Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steakhouses and III Forks, had been living large in Texas part of the time and here in his native state some of the time.

I hear-tell several key employees were either let go or quit over the last several weeks, and while lunch and happy hour were fairly busy in the mid-town location, dinners have been Deadsville. Rumors of the closure came down during the day Friday and staff learned by night's end they'd have no job on Saturday.

So, what's with the abrupt closure? The story from Wamstad's corporate office: When asked for a comment for the press, his staff was told to tell us, "He's just not good enough for Seattle." To which I feel obligated to reply, "Oh, get lost!"

Meanwhile, over at Consolidated Restaurants. . . (stay tuned, I'll get to that in a bit). Update (May 5): here.