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50 Popular Restaurants That Won’t Reopen After the Pandemic

50 Popular Restaurants That Won’t Reopen After the Pandemic

The restaurant trade has been particularly hard-hit by the onset of COVID-19. More than 8 million restaurant employees have been laid off or furloughed around the country. The restaurant industry as a whole is predicted to sustain $240 billion in losses by the end of 2020, according to a National Restaurant Association study of the economic impact of the coronavirus crisis.

Restaurants in many states are now at least partially open again, usually for outdoor dining only, or else with restrictions on indoor capacity. While waiting for business to resume, many establishments have managed to stay in business by making dine-out options available to their customers. There have even been fancy restaurants offering takeout and delivery during the coronavirus crisis.

Nevertheless, many thousands that closed “temporarily” when the first lockdown orders were issued have subsequently determined that they simply won’t be able to afford to reopen. In California alone, according to the California Restaurant Association, as many as 30,000 eating places might be out of business by the time the crisis abates. Restaurants are often examples of iconic businesses closed because of the coronavirus.

24/7 Tempo has assembled an updated list of 50 of the most popular eating places, in some 26 states and Washington D.C., that will not be reopening. These range from family-style Chinese restaurants to slick steakhouses, from neighborhood pubs to high-profile outposts of the Wolfgang Puck and David Chang empires.

In addition to the individual restaurants on this list, numerous units of such nationwide chains as P.F. Chang’s, Outback Steakhouse, Denny’s, Morton’s the Steakhouse, Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse, Steak ‘n Shake, and TGI Fridays have shuttered for good.

Some national or regional chains are closing down entirely, as well, among them Specialty’s Café and Bakery, which had 50 restaurants in California, Washington, and Illinois, and Sweet Tomatoes (called Souplantation in Southern California), a 97-location salad, soup, and bakery buffet chain covering several states. Still other notable operations have filed for bankruptcy, with their futures uncertain but at least some restaurant closings probably inevitable. Among these are Le Pain Quotidien and a 49-unit Florida-based IHOP franchisee.

New casualties are announced almost daily in virtually every state. 24/7 Tempo will periodically update and expand this list as the number of restaurants closing permanently continues to grow.

Source: Courtesy of John M. via Yelp

Arizona: Barrio Café Gran Reserva
> Location: Phoenix

This award-winning vegan-focused “mole palace” (as the Phoenix New Times once called it), open since 2016, is no more. Chef-owner Silvana Salcido Esparza cited “zero funding and coronavirus” as the factors involved with her decision — adding that closing the place will allow her to save her other Phoenix restaurant, Barrio Café, currently operating as a community kitchen.

Source: RyersonClark / Getty Images

California: Swingers
> Location: Los Angeles

A 27-year-old late-night hangout on Beverly Boulevard, Swingers ended service for good in early April. What Eater described as its “classic mid-century coffee shop vibes and…wide menu” appealed to a broad clientele. The same proprietors’ pub and restaurant The Pikey have also closed that place down, though they have plans to convert the space into a different restaurant at some future point.

Source: Courtesy of Clarke's Charcoal Broiler via Yelp

California: Clarke’s Charcoal Broiler
> Location: Mountain View

Clarke’s was known for serving what its website describes as “delicious, charcoal-broiled burgers and barbecue since 1945” in what is now called Silicon Valley. “Due to COVID-19 and the current extended shelter in place,” reads a statement on the site, “it has made it impossible for us to continue on.” The closing was effective March 31.

Source: Courtesy of John W. via Yelp

California: Biba Restaurant
>Location: Sacramento

Bologna-born Biba Caggiano ramped up the restaurant scene in the California capital when she opened this place 33 years ago. Caggiano, who went on to become a successful cookbook author and TV food personality, died last August, and her family was already reportedly having difficulty running the restaurant before the crisis. Early in May, they announced on Facebook that “with the uncertainty of what the future holds, we are unable to wait out this storm.”

Source: Chris Graythen / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images

California: Troy’s Family Restaurant
> Location: San Diego

Troy’s, which has served the city’s Clairemont neighborhood for 46 years, closed for good in late April. “As every month goes by,” owner Mary Likomitros told San Diego’s CBS8, “the bills just don’t stop.” She said that the restaurant had applied for a Paycheck Protection Program loan through Wells Fargo bank, but never heard back from them.

Source: Courtesy of Maria D. via Yelp

California: Locanda
> Location: San Francisco

Specializing in Roman-style pasta dishes, and hailed as a “must-visit Italian restaurant” by the San Francisco Chronicle, this upscale restaurant closed permanently in mid-March. Though it was popular, owner Craig Stoll told the Chronicle, it never made money, and the current crisis made its continued existence untenable.

Source: Courtesy of Viognier via Yelp

California: Viognier Restaurant
> Location: San Mateo

The restaurant at Draeger’s Market in this Silicon Valley community south of San Francisco was originally scheduled to reopen on April 30, but the San Francisco Chronicle reports that a sign posted at the place states that it is now permanently closed.

Source: Courtesy of Alan O. via Yelp

Colorado: 20th Street Café
> Location: Denver

After 74 years in business under three generations of the Okuno family, this neighborhood breakfast-and-lunch establishment has called it quits. The place has survived “up-turns and crazy downturns in the economy,” wrote current owners Rod and Karen Okuno on the restaurant website, “but this final one proved to be insurmountable for our little corner of the world.”

Source: Courtesy of Monalisa M. via Yelp

Colorado: The Market at Larimer Square
> Location: Denver

This beloved deli, bakery, market, and espresso bar combination — it was said to have been the first espresso bar between L.A. and New York City — opened in 1983. Its closing isn’t due only to the coronavirus (the proprietor had been considering retiring soon anyway), but the pandemic sped up its demise.

Source: Courtesy of Jackson's Prime via Facebook

Florida: Jackson’s Prime
> Location: Fort Lauderdale

Early in April, this steakhouse, operated by local restaurant veteran Jack Jackson since 2017, announced that it had closed for good due to the coronovirus’s “crippling effect” on the economy.

Source: Courtesy of Joe V. via Yelp

Georgia: The Georgia Grille
> Location: Atlanta

While she didn’t specifically cite the coronavirus crisis as the reason, Georgia Grille owner Karen Hilliard announced on Facebook on April 27 that “It is time to say goodbye.” The Southwestern-style restaurant, named in honor of artist Georgia O’Keeffe, had been in business for 30 years.

Source: Courtesy of Eda X. via Yelp

Illinois: Little Bucharest Bistro
> Location: Chicago

This 50-year-old Eastern European restaurant originally planned to close down last October, but a planned sale fell through. This time, though, it’s gone for good, shuttering as of April 30. “[W]e would be lying if we were to say that COVID-19 is the only reason we are closing,” according to a statement from the restaurant to Eater, “but it is definitely the straw that broke the camel’s back.” The location will be taken over for an upscale Mexican restaurant from Geno Bahena, a longtime veteran of Rick Bayless’s definitive Chicago Mexican establishments.

Source: Courtesy of Jim D. via Yelp

Illinois: Luella’s Gospel Bird
> Location: Chicago

A fried chicken specialist in Chicago’s Bucktown neighborhood, opened in 2018, Luella’s has gone out of business as a result of the pandemic closing. The original location, in Lincoln Square, continues on, doing takeout and delivery, and plans to reopen when the situation stabilizes.

Source: Courtesy of C H. via Yelp

Illinois: Toast
> Locations: Chicago

Neither location of this 24-year-old breakfast-and-brunch favorite — Bucktown and Lincoln Park — will return, even when dining restrictions in the city are lifted. “There isn’t any kind of fund sitting in the bank to cover expenses,” owner Jeanne Roeser told Chicago’s Fox32. Anyway, she added, with occupancy limits, masks, and social distancing, diners wouldn’t enjoy the kind of experience the restaurant had long provided.

Source: martiapunts / Shutterstock.com

Indiana: Next Door American Eatery
> Location: Indianapolis

This casual farm-to-table restaurant has closed indefinitely, though a spokesperson left open the possibility that it could reopen “once we get through this pandemic.” Its staff has been permanently let go in the meantime. The place, which debuted in 2016, is owned by Kimball Musk, younger brother of Tesla boss and serial entrepreneur Elon Musk.

Source: miodrag ignjatovic / Getty Images

Iowa: Trostel’s Dish
> Location: Clive

Open since 2005, this small-plates restaurant in the Des Moines metropolitan area closed temporarily in March like other Iowa establishments. On April 14, however, owner Suzanne Summy announced that she had made the “heart-wrenching” decision not to renew her lease and to close for good.

Source: Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images

Kentucky: China Inn Restaurant
> Location: Louisville

This 33-year-old family-owned restaurant, known both for its food and for the personality of owner Penny Uraiklang, shut down definitively in late March. Uraiklang had died recently of cancer, but her family promised her they’d keep the place going. The impact of the coronavirus made that impossible, they said.

Source: Courtesy of Keith H. via Yelp

Louisiana: Satterfield’s Upper Deck Restaurant
> Location: New Roads

This popular steak and seafood restaurant on the banks of False River near Baton Rouge closed on April 30 and it recently announced that it would not be reopening. Satterfield’s was established in 1996 in a building listed on the National Register of Historic Places, originally home to a 1917-vintage Ford dealership, Satterfield’s Motors. The owners note that their Landing Bar, downstairs from the restaurant, will remain open.

Source: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

Maine: Uncle Andy’s Diner
> Location: Portland

Uncle Andy’s opened in 1954, establishing a strong local reputation for comforting diner classics — including made-to-order pancakes, which current proprietor Dennis Fogg would shape into dinosaurs or flowers to please his younger customers. The diner was struggling even before the virus hit — it was the subject of a makeover on the Food Network show “Restaurant Impossible” — but as Fogg explained to the Portland Press-Herald, “We’ve always been able to just get by, but now we can’t.”

Source: Courtesy of Döner Bistro Frederick, MD via Facebook

Maryland: Döner Bistro
> Location: Frederick

A German-inspired Biergarten and grill (whose name references the Turkish sandwich that is popular street food in Germany), this establishment, opened in 2014, announced its permanent demise in mid-April. Another location, in Leesburg, Virginia, will remain open.

Source: Courtesy of Cristina R. via Yelp

Massachusetts: The Table at Season to Taste
> Location: Cambridge

“Top Chef” finalist Carl Dooley has announced in early May that the 20-seat prix-fixe restaurant he ran, attached to the Season to Taste catering operation, is permanently out of business. Owner Robert Harris is restructuring his catering arm, launching a take-out and delivery brand called Season to Go, but felt that the restaurant had to go. “[T]his is the sad and harsh reality I and the teams I employ all had to face,” he said in a press release.

Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.

Massachusetts: Hattapon’s Thai Kitchen
> Location: Greenfield

This 14-year-old Thai favorite in northern Massachusetts won’t reopen even when it would be permitted. The owners had already decided to close this spring for economic reasons, but the pandemic hurried things along, and also made it impossible for them to sell food at various local festivals as they had planned.

Source: Courtesy of One F M. via Yelp

Minnesota: Vivo Kitchen
> Location: Apple Valley

This eclectic 400-seat restaurant in a Twin Cities suburb announced that its doors were permanently closed on May 24 in a statement on its Facebook page on May 16. “We have given our absolute best to innovate and adapt to the ever-changing pandemic world we live in,” wrote the establishment’s executive director, “[but] the reality is that the business margins…are not maintainable….”

Source: Courtesy of Helen T. via Yelp

Minnesota: The Egg and I Diner
> Location: Minneapolis

The Egg and I had been serving breakfast dishes daily, for both breakfast and lunch, for more than 30 years. After it closed on March 17 in response to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s order, the owner decided not to reopen and to sell the property instead. He still plans to reopen his second location, in St. Paul, when possible.

Source: Courtesy of The Joinery Restaurant via Yelp

New Hampshire: The Joinery Restaurant
> Location: Newmarket

The proprietor of this 6-year-old farm-to-table restaurant near Portsmouth decided in mid-March not to reopen even when he’s allowed to. “I didn’t feel it was prudent to take on more debt” that might be difficult to pay back, he said.

Source: fmajor / Getty Images

New Jersey: Jake’s Restaurant & Bar
> Location: Flemington

A staple in Flemington, a Hunterdon County town southwest of Newark, for almost 30 years, Jake’s was a combination fine-dining restaurant and sports bar. The owners announced on April 9 that their temporary closing had become permanent.

Source: Natalie Behring / Getty Images

New Mexico: The Cooperage
> Location: Albuquerque

Opened in 1976, this prime rib restaurant, also noted for its salad bar, announced at the beginning of April that it had shuttered for good. The loss of wedding and catering business was a contributing factor.

Source: Courtesy of The Chef & The Cook via Facebook

New York: The Chef & the Cook
> Location: Baldwinsville

This 2-year-old establishment in the Syracuse metropolitan area became possibly the first restaurant in central New York State to announce that it would not reopen once the coronavirus shut-down ended. The owners decided in late March to pull the plug, noting that their lease was due for renewal soon anyway.

Source: Courtesy of Coogan’s NYC via Facebook

New York: Coogan’s
> Location: New York City

This Irish pub and restaurant in Manhattan’s Washington Heights neighborhood — which styled itself “America’s #1 Runners Restaurant” — closed its doors on March 17 for what was initially going to be a limited period of time. On April 21, however, the owners posted a statement on the Coogan’s website saying “We had hoped to open them again but sadly that is not possible.”

Source: Courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

New York: Daddy-O
> Location: New York City

A Greenwich Village dive bar and restaurant, Daddy-O was a favorite hangout for New York City chefs until it closed up earlier this month. It had an upstate New York vibe, as expressed by dishes like Buffalo wings and the Rochester specialty the “garbage plate” (involving fried potatoes, hot dogs, baked beans, meat sauce, and other ingredients). Owner Phil Casaceli has confirmed the closing but provided no details about the restaurant’s demise.

Source: Courtesy of Lucky Strike via Yelp

New York: Lucky Strike
> Location: New York City

Opened in 1989 by noted Manhattan restaurant mogul Keith McNally, this SoHo bistro initially provided takeout and delivery services when in-house dining was banned, like many other places. It stopped doing that in late March, before announcing in April that it would not be reopening. McNally — whose other restaurants include the acclaimed Balthazar and Minetta Tavern — was himself hospitalized in London with COVID-19 in early April.

Source: Courtesy of Mike C. via Yelp

New York: Momofuku Nishi
> Location: New York City

David Chang, the chef-restaurateur whose Momofuku empire has been a major influence on the American food scene. He opened this establishment in 2016 with an Italian-Korean theme, recasting it with a more purely Italian menu the following year. It never took off like some of his other places, and in mid-May, his company announced on its website that “returning to normal is not an option,” so the place won’t reopen. Chang also plans to move his popular Ssäm Bar from the East Village to South Street Seaport, where he has another restaurant location.

Source: darios44 / iStock Editorial via Getty Images

New York: The Paris Café
> Location: New York City

The logo for this 147-year-old pub and restaurant at South Street Seaport reads “Since 1873 – Forever.” That turned out not to be the case. In a message posted on the establishment’s Facebook page, proprietor Pete O’Connell wrote “Through no fault of anyone but the outbreak of this virus we are unable to forge a way forward that makes economic sense. We had no option but to close our doors.”

Source: Courtesy of Elyse F. via Yelp

Ohio: Parkers Blue Ash Tavern
> Location: Cincinnati

A suburban Cincinnati favorite, serving steak and seafood in an upscale environment for almost 40 years, the Tavern has posted a message on its website reading in part “Due to the uncertainty associated with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the restaurant industry, and Parkers Blue Ash Tavern in particular, it has been very difficult for us to plan a reopening.”

Source: Courtesy of Mercer L. via Yelp

Ohio: Spice Kitchen & Bar
> Location: Cleveland

Citing cancellations for its catering business as well as declining restaurant revenues, this 8-year-old establishment — named one of Cleveland Magazine’s best restaurants of the year in 2019 — announced in mid-March that it was shuttering permanently. The catering company will continue to operate.

Source: Courtesy of Lena H. via Yelp

Oregon: Pacific Way Bakery & Café
> Location: Gearhart

This 32-year-old neighborhood restaurant and bakery on the coast in northern Oregon is yet another casualty of the pandemic. Owners John and Lisa Allen had just invested in a renovation of the dining room when the crisis hit, and they said they got no response when they applied for a Paycheck Protection Program grant that might have helped them hang on. In announcing their decision to close permanently, Lisa Allen told the Seaside Signal “We cannot financially ruin ourselves to the point where we would sell our home and live on the street.”

Source: Courtesy of Pigs Out S. via Yelp

Oregon: Clyde Common
> Location: Portland

This downtown Portland eatery is credited with having helped to animate the city’s vibrant food scene when it opened more than a decade ago. The owners announced in early May that the financial effects of the pandemic had made it impossible to reopen, though they report that they might install a simpler restaurant in the same location in the future.

Source: Courtesy of Craig V. via Yelp

Pennsylvania: Alexander’s Italian Bistro
> Location: Pittsburgh

The Colaizzi family has owned this restaurant in Bloomfield, Pittsburgh’s Little Italy, since opening it as Alto’s in 1958. (It was renamed Alexander’s in 1977.) It closed for what was hoped to be a temporary period on March 12, but subsequently announced on its website that it was closing permanently. “My wish as I end this letter…,” wrote current proprietor Kimberly Colaizzi Ifft on the site, “is that you remember all the great memories with my dad and our crew.”

Source: Courtesy of The Original Hot Dog Shop via Facebook

Pennsylvania: Original Hot Dog Shop
> Location: Pittsburgh

Opened in 1960 across the street from now-defunct Forbes Field, then home of the Pittsburgh Pirates, this iconic institution in the center of the University of Pittsburgh campus has apparently served its last burgers, dogs, and famous fries. Though there has been no official announcement, reports confirm that “The O,” as it was known, has been emptied out, and its website no longer operates.

Source: Courtesy of McCrady's Restaurant via Facebook

South Carolina: McCrady’s
> Location: Charleston

Known for the avant-garde tasting menus introduced by noted chef Sean Brock (who departed in 2018), McCrady’s will not resume serving even after restrictions are lifted. David Howard, president of Neighborhood Dining Group, which owns the restaurant, issued a statement saying in part that “we’ve come to the difficult decision that McCrady’s…will no longer be viable in this changed business environment….” The group’s Mexican restaurant, Minero, upstairs from McCrady’s, will also close for good, though a new location is planned on nearby Johns Island.

Source: Courtesy of Yesterdays Restaurant & Tavern

South Carolina: Yesterdays Restaurant and Tavern
> Location: Columbia

This 43-year-old institution in the South Carolina capital’s Five Points neighborhood closed in early April, expecting to possibly reopen. However, co-owner Scottie MacRae told the newspaper The State in late April that “with heavy but grateful hearts…we’ve decided to hang it up for good.”

Source: Courtesy of The Grove Grill via Facebook

Tennessee: Grove Grill
> Location: Memphis

This restaurant in the Laurelwood Shopping Center would have turned 23 in October, but the owners announced in early May that it would not reopen. Chef-owner Jeffrey Dunham told Memphis Flyer that he had been counting on “early summer business, graduation, Easter, and Mother’s Day and all that to get us going.” Unfortunately, he added, “[W]hen this hit, it just set us too far behind.”

Source: Matt Winkelmeyer / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images

Texas: Threadgill’s
> Location: Austin

Opened as a gas station and beer bar in 1933, this Austin institution evolved into a full-scale restaurant and leading music venue, spawning a second location in 1996. That one closed in 2018, and now the original Threadgill’s is for sale and will not reopen.

Source: LaylaBird / Getty Images

Texas: Barry’s Pizza
> Location: Houston

This iconic pizzeria closed in late May after 37 years in business. “Well, friends, it’s official,” read a message on the restaurant’s Facebook page, posted on May 26. “Covid 19 killed Barry’s.” By May 28, almost 2,000 fans of the place had posted comments lamenting the closure or paying tribute to the place.

Source: wesmyles / Getty Images

Virginia: Citizen
> Location: Richmond

After almost a decade, this downtown sandwich shop pulled the plug on March 18. The owner had planned to sell the place to another operator but had agreed to keep running the restaurant until the deal was finalized. Then, he noted, “the world came to a standstill.” The deal fell through, and Citizen shut down

Source: Courtesy of Michael C. via Yelp

Washington: The Brooklyn Seafood, Steak & Oyster House
> Location: Seattle

Known for more than a quarter of a century for its serious oyster menu as well as its meat and seafood dishes, The Brooklyn called it quits as of March 13. A statement blamed “the devastating economic impact of global events.”

Source: Win McNamee / Getty Images News via Getty Images

Washington: Local 360 Café and Bar
> Location: Seattle

In early March, this purveyor of “real food” posted an online notice that it was “closing entirely.” It cited various factors, including group dining cancellations, the likely impact of the pandemic on Seattle tourism this summer, possible mandatory quarantine measures, and the challenges of operating with a smaller staff for shorter hours.

Source: Courtesy of Pari P. via Yelp

Washington, D.C.: Momofuku CCDC
> Location: Washington, D.C.

Influential chef-restaurateur David Chang announced the permanent demise of his “hometown project” (he was born nearby in northern Virginia) in mid-May after almost five years. According to a message from Momofuku Group CEO Marguerite Zabar Marisca on the company website, the organization “investigated every scenario to make the math work” in light of the pandemic, but ultimately “the financial picture…no longer made sense.”

Source: AndreyPopov / Getty Images

Washington, D.C.: The Source
> Location: Washington, D.C.

It’s curtains for Wolfgang Puck’s first restaurant, which opened 13 years ago, in the nation’s capital (he subsequently launched a branch of his CUT steakhouse in the city’s Rosewood Hotel). A modern Asian restaurant in the basement of what was once the Newseum — an institution devoted to journalism and the First Amendment which closed at the end of 2019 — The Source is now permanently closed.

Source: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

Wisconsin: Blue’s Egg
> Location: Shorewood

This “modern American brunch” restaurant in a Milwaukee suburb, opened in May of 2018, will not reopen in its current form. Owners Black Shoe Hospitality say that a new concept in the space, serving both brunch and dinner, will open eventually, but there is no firm timeline. A Blue’s Egg location in Milwaukee itself plans to reopen.

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