At long last, former French Laundry chef de cuisine Timothy Hollingsworth is opening his long-ago-promised solo restaurant in San Francisco, following a stint in L.A. and a spin on a Netflix cooking competition show.

Eater brings the news today that Hollingsworth has swooped in to grab the space that was occupied by Ayala until just a week ago at 398 Geary Street. Hollingsworth's restaurant, called All These Years, will feature a contemporary American menu that celebrates “America’s diverse food culture," and is due to open in the spring.

Ayala chef-owner Melissa Perfit, herself an alum of Top Chef and before that Bar Crudo, confirmed news of the closure with the Chronicle. The restaurant only lasted a year, and in that time landed on SFist's list of the best seafood spots in town.

A former James Beard Rising Star chef during his 13-year stint at the French Laundry, Hollingsworth cut his teeth in the pristine Yountville kitchen of Thomas Keller, ultimately becoming the kind of perfectionist that was able to best 23 other talented chefs on Netflix's The Final Table. Way back in 2012, when Hollingsworth announced his departure from the Laundry, he hinted that he might want to open a casual taqueria in either L.A. or San Francisco. L.A. ended up winning him over, and he landed there, ultimately opening his four-year-old restaurant Otium next to The Broad museum in 2015.

Since then, as the Chronicle notes, he's opened two casual spots: an arcade bar with food called Free Play, and C.J. Boyd’s, a fried chicken stand.

One could imagine that All These Years might have some things in common with Otium, though the menu is obviously still in the works and Hollingsworth has put the stress on "American." At Otium, he's proven himself just as comfortable with falafel and pasta as he is with pig's tail crepinette and tomahawk steaks.

Stay tuned for more details as we get them, but hooray for a high-profile restaurant opening to look forward to in early 2020. (Also, kudos to Hollingsworth for snagging those Harry Potter dollars, however long that show lasts across the street.)

Photo: Sierra Prescott