50 Popular Restaurants That Won’t Reopen After the Pandemic

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.

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.

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.

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.”

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.

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.

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.

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.”

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.”

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.

“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.

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.

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….”

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.”

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.

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.

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.

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.”

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.”

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.

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.”

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.

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.”

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.

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.

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.”

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.”

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.

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.

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

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.”

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.

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.”

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.

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.