An award-winning Williamsburg restaurateur apparently committed suicide on the side of a Pennsylvia road, police say.
Cops found Colin Devlin, 42, unconscious in his car next to a cemetery in Fogelsville, Penn, with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. They brought him to a nearby hospital, where he was declared dead.
The well-respected chef owned DuMont Restaurant, upscale burger joint DuMont Burger and the recently shuttered Dressler.
Family last saw Devlin when he left his house on Devoe Street between Union Avenue and Lorimer Street at 2:25 pm Wednesday. Police said he had been suffering from depression.
The Devlin Metro Group empire has taken some hits lately. His Michelin-starred restaurant, Dressler, unexpectedly closed last month after the eatery lost its lease.
At the time of the closing, Devlin left a message on the restaurant’s website. “With much regret, an agreement could not be reached for a lease renewal,” said the letter signed by “the Dressler family.”
Born in Philadelphia, Devlin started in the restaurant business as a dishwasher at the age of 14, according to DuMont Restaurant’s website. He moved to New York City in 1994, and worked at Pravda and Balthazar before opening DuMont in 2001.
Staff at DuMont Restaurant declined to comment.
Devlin was found just seven-and-a-half miles away from where another Brooklyn eatery owner Josh Rubin was found murdered and charred on the side of a Pennsylvania road in December of 2011. The murder of Rubin, who owned the Ditmas Park cafe Whisk, still has not been solved.
Reach reporter Danielle Furfaro at dfurfaro@cnglocal.com or by calling (718) 260-2511. Follow her at twitter.com/DanielleFurfaro.
