EDIBLE: One of the most buzzed-about restaurants in a generation is selling, creating more buzz.

Ever have one of those days or weeks when you know not that much time has really passed, but with a glance back, suddenly that morning, or that Monday, feels so, so, so long ago?

That feeling helps me imagine how long ago a relatively recent 2011 opening must feel for the staffers, creators and collaborators at Restaurant 1833.

At the storied property in downtown Monterey, where the longer history is approaching 175 years, not much more than a half-decade has contained a lifetime of intrigue: the arrival of multiple world-class chefs, sudden staffing shuffles, a nationwide James Beard Best New Restaurant nomination, kitchen fireworks, 3.5 stars from San Francisco Chronicle’s Michael Bauer and, yes, electrifying cocktails and atmospheric meals featuring everything from whole suckling pigs to fried chicken from a recipe born of taste-tasting no fewer than 75 different preparations in a single afternoon.

And that was just on property. In the same space of time, 1833’s parent company Coastal Luxury Management expanded Pebble Beach Food & Wine, launched Los Angeles Food & Wine, opened and sold a restaurant/performance venue in Vegas and opened and sold a downtown L.A. destination restaurant called Faith & Flower, forging a billion partnerships, give or take, along the way.

Which is part of the reason why when the Weekly broke word Nov. 22 that 1833 is finalizing its sale to local real estate investor Constance Laub, it marked one of the bigger food stories of the year, and the end of an era.

For some staffers at 1833, that mcweekly.com/edible story was the first they heard of the business being sold along with the historic building. They had known for months that a sale was in the works, but hoped the business wasn’t on the auction block. After all, as CLM CEO David Bernahl told me when 1833 went on the market, that was the hope.

But, as the saying goes, everything’s for sale at the right price.

Bernahl and longtime CLM executive James Velarde met with 1833 employees Nov. 28 to look them in the eye and give them an assessment of the situation.

The pair took the opportunity to explain how many hurdles the restaurant had cleared – often at personal expense – to reach this crossroads, including chronic months in the red, the expensive ouster of CLM co-founder Rob Weakley in a withering legal battle, and the untimely imprisonment of eventual CLM partner and vineyard pioneer Charles Banks for wire fraud. They acknowledged CLM is owed a great sum of money, and owes its own amounts, and emphasized the overarching priority is to make every employee whole, as some still await checks. They also added everybody still has a job – citing private parties still booked for the holidays – but 1) It doesn’t make financial sense to keep 1833 open in quiet season, and 2) Laub has last say come January.

Other paradoxes await. On one hand, Laub, who launched Carmel hotspot Dametra and neighboring (now defunct) Constance Wine Bar – the eventual sale of which allowed her to come up with the roughly $3.75 million (pending some asset inclusion) for 1833 – says it ain’t broke, so she’s not about to fix anything.

“I love it so much, I won’t be doing a lot,” she says. “I’m looking at making it more approachable, an everyday thing, but not by sacrificing its elegance – casual elegant is kind of my M.O., something where people can drop in wearing a suit or shorts and Birkenstocks. I like people to have a nice time and good food and wine.”

On the other hand, she has plenty of changes in mind (though it’s early and they are subject to change): She wants to add lunch (including lots of salad, soups, pasta, panini and combo specials), reimagine the front patio (with umbrellas and live music Sunday brunch) and honor a driving ambition to make it “light and bright and full of activity” (citing Rio Grill as an example of what she’s going after).

On one hand, she says she’s been quite impressed with 1833’s team and wants those interested to stay; on the other, she says wants to interview everyone. In the meantime, she plans on letting Bernahl wrap up loose ends through the end of the year, before hosting her own new year’s party, and taking a few weeks to update decor for a late January relaunch.

Her longtime collaborator at spots like Dametra and Constance Wine Bar, Dexter Salazar, co-owner/operator of Carmel social spot Affina Food + Drink, will come aboard to manage things and help with hiring. He is considering consulting some of the big names from 1833’s heyday to help out (citing former GM Tobias Peach, barkeep Mike Lay and executive chef Levi Mezick).

“I want to bring the cool back, that Sinatra feel,” he says. “Less haunted house, more Rat Pack vibe.”

Meanwhile Bernahl and his team seem energized – and relieved – to move past a project that was thrilling and draining for little to no fiduciary return.

“Restaurants need freshness and constant innovation,” Bernahl says. “I’m excited for someone else to get a chance to play with this property and its rich history.”

Speaking of paradoxes, one can hear both the weariness and the excitement in his voice. He’s free to focus more CLM time and energy on other projects. And his own life force on playing dad.

As he says: “A spring needs to compress again before it explodes forward.”