Special Report
50 Popular Restaurants That Won’t Reopen After the Pandemic
Published:
The restaurant business just can’t seem to catch a break. First it was pretty much shut down completely around the country, with only takeout and delivery services permitted — which proved impractical for many places. Then things started looking up a bit, as various jurisdictions began to allow first outdoor dining and then limited seating indoors.
But social distancing strictures and the lingering understandable reluctance of potential customers to dine out in these uncertain times have kept revenues low. And now, as new infections spike in some parts of the country, establishments that had only just reopened are being told to close again.
It seems likely that restaurants have suffered more significant job and sales declines in recent months than any other industry in America, according to a COVID-19 impact survey published by the National Restaurant Association.
It has become increasingly apparent in the past month or so that many restaurants that expected to be dark for a month or two at most are now realizing that they’ll likely never be able to get back to normal. Yelp recently revealed that some 23,981 of the eating places listed on its site have closed at least temporarily since March 1, and that of that number, an astonishing 53% have shut down permanently.
And it’s not just in America: Aaron Allen, founder of the consulting firm Aaron Allen & Associates, recently estimated to Bloomberg Law that up to 10% of all restaurants globally will vanish for good, with another 20% or more being forced to restructure.
COVID-19 isn’t the only reason restaurants close, of course. Sometimes, well-loved eating places just can’t make the numbers work, or they lose their leases, or confront other implacable challenges. The coronavirus obviously had nothing to do, for instance, with the saddest restaurant closings of 2019.
Click here to see 50 popular restaurants that won’t reopen after the pandemic.
But seeing the demise, through no fault of their own, of places that might otherwise have been successful seems particularly tragic. The list of restaurants in America that have closed permanently in recent months includes everything from mass-market chain units to neighborhood favorites to upscale restaurants run by celebrity chefs like Wolfgang Puck, Daniel Boulud, David Chang, and José Andrés.
24/7 Tempo has been tracking permanent restaurant closings around the country. Most recently, following up earlier coverage, we’ve published an updated list of 30 more popular restaurants that won’t reopen after the pandemic.
Unfortunately, the carnage shows no signs of stopping, so we have now assembled this completely new list of 50 popular restaurants, covering 24 states plus Washington, D.C. As we approach the seventh month of coronavirus shutdowns, the list will undoubtedly keep on growing.
Arizona: El Zocalo Mexican Grille
>Location: Chandler
“We are sad to announce this chapter has come to an end,” wrote the proprietors of this 20-year-old Mexican standby in Chandler, southeast of Phoenix, on the restaurant’s Facebook page last month. They left open the possibility of reviving the place in a new home in the future. Meanwhile, they continue to operate three other establishments, one each in Chandler, Mesa, and Phoenix.
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California: Plum Tree Inn
> Location: Los Angeles
“With these uncertain times, we have made the difficult decision to close our doors permanently,” reads a notice on this 40-year-old Chinatown institution’s website. The restaurant was known for its Sichuan specialties and for its Peking duck, hailed by LA Magazine as one of the city’s best.
California: Station House Café
>Location: Point Reyes Station
After 46 years serving seafood dinners and a popular brunch on Tomales Bay in Marin County, this establishment called it quits as of May 31. The owners cited a substantial rent hike, on top of the financial difficulties imposed by the lockdown, as making it impossible to continue.
California: Hakkasan
>Location: San Francisco
An upscale 170-seat Chinese restaurant, which cost a reported $7 million to build, Hakkasan closed permanently in late May after eight years of serving black cod with Champagne and honey, black truffle duck, and other luxurious specialties. The decision was made “To preserve the long-term stability of our business,” according to a company statement given to the San Francisco Chronicle. There are 11 other outposts of the chain — three more in the U.S., two in London, and one each in six other cities in Asia and the Middle East. Some others might not reopen, but details haven’t been confirmed.
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California: Pacific Dining Car
>Location: Santa Monica
The original Pacific Dining Car in downtown L.A., founded in 1921 and probably the city’s best-known steakhouse, spawned this Westside location in 1990. Serving 24 hours a day until the coronavirus lockdown, it was considered a Santa Monica essential. The owners say that the combination of the pandemic crisis and curfews imposed during the recent Black Lives Matter protests made it untenable for the restaurant to reopen.
Colorado: 12@Madison
>Location: Denver
This 3-year-old establishment, described by the Denver Post as “a small-plates restaurant that would be considered upscale to many diners,” announced in late May that it simply wasn’t big enough to reopen under the strictures likely to remain in place for some time. A press release issued by the proprietor of the 40-seat eatery explained that “It would be incredibly difficult to social distance appropriately in that space, even with the patio.”
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Connecticut: Firebox
>Location: Hartford
The socially conscious Firebox, a farm-to-table restaurant opened in 2007 by the Melville Charitable Trust with a mission that included bringing “jobs, investment, and opportunity to the community,” will not be reopening. “It has become clear that we are simply unable to sustain the restaurant in its current form going forward,” according to a statement issued by Firebox representatives in early June.
Florida: Obra Miami
> Location: Miami
Barely two years old but already named by Eater as one of the city’s 38 best restaurants, this contemporary Venezuelan place has called it quits. “Obra will forever live in our hearts and of course, our stomachs!” read a post on the establishment’s Instagram page.
Georgia: The Federal
> Location: Atlanta
With a menu combining steakhouse staples and bistro fare, this Midtown restaurant opened in 2016. Like other local establishments, it closed in mid-March for what it thought would be a temporary hiatus but in late June announced that it would not be returning, “Due to the uncertain future created by the pandemic.”
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Georgia: Anne and Bill’s
>Location: Forest Park
After 46 years in business in this Atlanta suburb, Anne and Bill’s — known for its meat-and-three menu (various meats served with a variety of side dishes), its breakfasts, and its homemade desserts — is going out of business. A statement from the restaurant in mid-May said that “our sales have dropped so low that we cannot continue to operate….”
Hawaii: REAL Gastropub
> Location: Honolulu
“[O]ften credited as the first restaurant in Hawai’i with a focus on craft beer,” according to Honolulu Magazine, this popular pub and its associated craft brewery, Bent Tail Brewing Co., has poured its last pint. “We were going to lose money if we reopened,” co-owner Lisa Kim told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser in mid-June. “Mahalo to the many team members, guests, industry friends and beer geeks we have had the honor to meet and befriend,” said a message on the REAL website.
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Illinois: Blackbird
> Location: Chicago
This well-loved West Loop restaurant was opened 22 years ago by Paul Kahan, who has since become one of Chicago’s best-known chef-restaurateurs (his other places include Avec, Publican, and Big Star). Blackbird’s intimate size and layout made social distancing impossible, and the restaurant announced on its website, “we have made the very difficult decision to close our doors.”
Illinois: Ditka’s
>Location: Chicago
Until mid-May, legendary Chicago Bears coach and player Mike Ditka was a partner in five Ditka’s restaurants — three in the Chicago area and one each in Pittsburgh and Phoenix. Now, after almost a quarter of a century in business, the original Ditka’s, in Chicago’s Tremont Hotel, has shut down. A post on the restaurant’s Facebook page announced that “We have made the extremely difficult decision to close…due to the economic impact of COVID-19 and the short term left on our lease.”
Illinois: Katana
>Location: Chicago
An offshoot of an upscale Los Angeles-based Japanese restaurant with a celebrity clientele opened in Chicago three years ago, specializing in creative sushi offerings and top-of-the-line wagyu beef cooked on charcoal imported from Japan. The group that owns Katana (in addition to L.A., there is another location in Dubai) announced in mid-May that it would not be reopening.
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Louisiana: Semolina
> Location: Metairie
The sole remaining outpost of this noodle-based chain, which once had as many as 25 locations in several Southern states, gave up the ghost the last week in June. While the owners had planned to close the Metairie restaurant eventually anyway, they told NOLA.com that coronavirus restrictions “pushed us over the top.” They plan to open a new Semolina in another location when the crisis abates.
Maine: Joseph’s Fireside Steakhouse
>Location: Waterville
State rules for social distancing have spelled the end for this popular steakhouse, opened in 2011. Co-owner Kevin Joseph told Waterville’s Morning Sentinel that he felt unable to safely seat more than 40 people at the most, and that “Operating at this limited capacity we would not be able to generate enough revenue to pay the bills.”
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Maryland: City Café
>Location: Baltimore
Opened as a coffee shop in 1994, this place evolved into a popular bar and restaurant
serving she-crab soup, grilled branzino, Moroccan lamb burgers, and other American and international fare. In mid-May, the owners announced that City Café wouldn’t reopen when state dining restrictions were lifted, adding in an Instagram post that “It breaks our hearts to say farewell….”
Massachusetts: Parsnip Restaurant & Lounge
> Location: Cambridge
“Parsnip will be closed from March 16 thru April 5,” announced the restaurant’s website hopefully four months ago. As it turns out, this upscale American restaurant on Harvard Square won’t be reopening at all. A spokesperson told the Boston Globe that the proprietors “didn’t think they could reopen and have a viable business at this point in time.” They left open the possibility that they might eventually open another restaurant on the site.
Massachusetts: Craigie Burger
> Location: Boston
Though it specializes in tasting menus of imaginative modern American fare, chef Tony Maws’ Craigie on Main in Cambridge became most famous for its epic burger, only 18 of which were prepared each evening. Last year, Maws capitalized on its fame by opening Craigie Burger in the new Time Out Market Boston in Fenway. The temporarily closed Craigie Burger won’t reopen, according to Maws and his partners. They feel that the lack of Red Sox games at Fenway Park and the absence of students from several nearby colleges would make reviving the enterprise too chancy.
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Massachusetts: Bar Boulud
>Location: Boston
Famed French chef-restaurateur Daniel Boulud announced in mid-June that he was closing down his sole Boston property, located in the Mandarin Oriental Boston hotel. An official statement reported that the restaurant, which opened in 2014, was a victim of the pandemic, which had a “negative impact on business levelsâ¦.”
Massachusetts: Restaurant Dante
>Location: Cambridge
Known for its Italian specialties and its commanding views of the Charles River, this 15-year-old establishment in Cambridge’s Royal Sonesta Boston hotel announced its permanent closing in mid-May. While the owners didn’t specifically blame the coronavirus crisis for its demise, their statement on the restaurant’s website read in part “When you are able to support your local restaurant — safely — do so with an open heart and a big smile….And that’s what’s going to get us all through this.”
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Michigan: Mikette
> Location: Ann Arbor
This French bistro on Ann Arbor’s northside drew much of its clientele from the nearby University of Michigan North Campus and medical center. With the university closed and medical workers otherwise occupied, the customer base disappeared. On June 23, Mikette posted a message on its Facebook page reading, “After 5 memorable years, Mikette is closing its French doors for good.” Some of its menu specialties and much of its staff will migrate to two other restaurants under the same ownership, Mani and Isalita.
Michigan: Markovski’s Family Restaurant
>Location: Dearborn Heights
After 50 years in business, Markovski’s, famous for its stuffed cabbage, kielbasa, and other Polish specialties, has said goodbye. In a statement on Facebook, the proprietors declared that “A worldwide pandemic was the only thing that could separate our tightly knit family [and] if you were here, you were definitely family.”
Minnesota: Fuji Ya
> Location: Minneapolis
When Reiko Weston opened Fuji Ya in 1959, it was apparently the first-ever Japanese restaurant in Minnesota. It expanded and spawned offshoots, but Weston died in 1988, and two years later the place closed down — until her daughter brought it back to life in 1997. The restaurant shuttered temporarily in early May, but by the end of that month, its website carried the message: “Thank you for your support! Unfortunately we are closing our doors.”
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Minnesota: Muddy Waters
>Location: Minneapolis
Opened as a coffee shop in 1987 and growing into a popular gastropub, this Twin Cities favorite announced its permanent shuttering in early May. “We want to thank [M]inneapolis for loving us so long,” read a post on the restaurant’s Facebook page. “We will miss Muddys forever.”
Nevada: Morels French Steakhouse & Bistro
>Location: Las Vegas
The Venetian and Palazzo hotel and casino complex has reopened, but one of its restaurants, the 12-year-old Morels, is not following suit. “Unfortunately,” the owners told Eater Vegas, “these uncertain economic times brought on by COVID-19 has made it impossible to survive as an independent restaurant operator in a hotel with an estimated occupancy less than 50 percent for the foreseeable future.”
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New York: Aquagrill
> Location: New York City
Add this 24-year-old Soho seafood restaurant to the list of establishments that had closed temporarily in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, but has now decided to make the closure permanent. “Aquagrill is not continuing to operate in light of the unsafe effects of the coronavirus on public dining out,” reads a statement on the restaurant website.
New York: Aureole
> Location: New York City
Celebrity chef Charlie Palmer announced in mid-June that his upscale 32-year-old Aureole, which relocated to 42nd Street across from Bryant Park in 2009, would not be reopening. However, said Palmer on the Aureole website, “Moving through these uncertain times and with a changing industry landscape, we remain dedicated to offering our loyal patrons the very best in American cuisine … .” That means “boutique-style take-out,” as the website explains, plus wines and craft cocktails and an Aureole catering operation. Palmer will eventually open a steakhouse on the site, with fewer seats to meet social distancing requirements, and he has left open the possibility of opening a smaller Aureole at another location at some future time.
New York: NIX
> Location: New York City
According to its website, chef John Fraser’s Michelin-starred vegetarian restaurant “is regrettably closed until further notice.” The NIX Instagram page, though, tells a different story. “With great sadness,” says a message posted last month, “we announce that NIX will not be reopening. We were four years old, almost to the day, when Covid obligated us to close. Everything that’s happened since has shown us that there is no path back to where we had been … .”
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New York: Beyoglu
>Location: New York City
“COVID-19 has caused huge financial damage to our business,” read a notice posted in the window of this Turkish restaurant on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. “In this current situation we are not able to keep our common home alive.” The statement also noted that the place had been unable to extend its lease. “It has been a great 20+ years,” the letter continued. “We wish we could be able to say GoodBye in different ways.”
New York: Jewel Bako
>Location: New York City
A sign in the window of this well-loved Michelin-starred sushi bar near Manhattan’s Cooper Square, posted in mid-May, announced an “open house sale” of kitchen goods, appliances, and equipment, as well as wine “for cheap.” In 2018, Jewel Bako’s owners opened a chef’s counter place next door called Restaurant Ukiyo, which also won a Michelin star. A statement on the Ukiyo website announced officially that both establishments have closed for good.
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New York: Toro
>Location: New York City
Noted Boston chef-restaurateurs Ken Oringer and Jamie Bissonnette have permanently closed the once-bustling Manhattan location of this tapas restaurant, opened in 2013. The original Boston restaurant and a location in Dubai remain in business. “Toro NYC has come to the end of our journey,” reads a statement on the restaurant’s Instagram page, “and the staff will not have a restaurant home to come back to when this pandemic ends.”
North Carolina: Cameron Bar & Grill
>Location: Raleigh
Opened 10 years ago in Raleigh’s Cameron Village shopping center, this restaurant, specializing in “great American cuisine,” has made (according to its website) “the difficult decision to permanently close, effective immediately.” A sister restaurant in Raleigh, Edwards Mill Bar and Grill, will remain open.
Oregon: Mi Mero Mole
> Location: Portland
July 3 was the last day for this popular Chinatown Mexican place. In a statement on its Facebook page, owner Nick Zukin noted that he depended on tourists, office workers, and concert goers, among others, to keep the place alive, and “We don’t expect any of those customers to return until this pandemic is over.” He went on to say, “We have lost money every day we have remained open and only did so because our staff is like family to us and we didn’t want to let them down.”
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Oregon: Sweet Basil’s Café
>Location: Cannon Beach
A Cajun-Creole place opened in 2007 in this coastal town in the northwestern corner of the state, Sweet Basil’s has extended its temporary closure into a permanent one. Social distancing requirements, says co-owner John Sowa, would have allowed him to fill three or four tables at the most — which, he adds, “doesn’t cut it.” Sowa plans to take the executive chef job at Silver Salmon Grille in Astoria, just up the coast, where he will add some of his Louisiana specialties to the menu.
Oregon: Nel Centro
>Location: Portland
Restaurateur David Machado announced that he is permanently closing this, his oldest Portland restaurant, opened in 2009 — as well as four other restaurants and bars he runs in the city. Machado told Portland Eater that he anticipated increased costs due to new sanitation and social distancing measures and feared that revenue would decrease 50% to 70%. He is also concerned that if he did reopen all or some of his places, a spike in COVID-19 cases could force him to shutter a second time, and “I could not bear to go through layoffs again.”
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Oregon: Pok Pok restaurants
>Location: Portland
James Beard Award-winning chef-restaurateur Andy Ricker, whose Pok Pok restaurant group specializes in northern Thai and Vietnamese cooking, announced on Instagram in mid-June that he was closing four of his six Portland locations. The shuttered restaurants include Pok Pok NW, Whiskey Soda Lounge, and two outposts of Pok Pok Wing. A third Pok Pok Wing might reopen, and Ricker’s original Pok Pok will remain.
Pennsylvania: R2L
> Location: Philadelphia
Chef Daniel Stern’s high-end lounge and restaurant on the 37th floor of Two Liberty Place in downtown Philadelphia has shut down permanently. Its website and Facebook page are now offline, but Eater Philadelphia reported that a statement on the latter read, “Prior to the mandated Covid-19 closure, we had been actively planning to serve you all for another decade. That is not to be.”
Pennsylvania: Ritz Barbecue
>Location: Allentown
Described by the Morning Call as “An Allentown landmark restaurant where generations of families gathered for barbecue, banana splits, milkshakes and more,” the Ritz grew out of a fairgrounds stand established in 1927 and moved to its present site 10 years later. The current owners, Jeff and Grace Stinner, who took over in 1981, announced in mid-June that they would not reopen. Though the restaurant had been for sale since 2019, Grace stressed to the Morning Call that the pandemic is to blame for their recent decision. “We did want to stay open until someone else took over,” she said, “but that’s not feasible now.”
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Pennsylvania: FARMiCiA
>Location: Philadelphia
This 15-year-old Old City establishment — whose mission statement reads “Our emphasis on local, seasonal ingredients is based on our support for sustainable agriculture & to the growing demand for healthy, creative cuisine” — has called it a day. “It is with a sad heart and with deepest regrets,” read a post on the restaurant’s Facebook page in mid-May, “that FARMiCiA Restaurant will be permanently closing its doors due to the coronavirus pandemic.”
South Carolina: Jestine’s Kitchen
> Location: Charleston
A major tourist draw for 24 years, Jestine’s was named for the African American housekeeper and cook employed by the white family that founded the place. It was recently criticized as “the last Charleston restaurant to openly capitalize on the narrative of black servitude,” in the words of The Post and Courier. After reopening on May 20, the restaurant announced in mid-June that it would cease operations for good due to “the quick onset of the scary pandemic.”
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Tennessee: The Green Pheasant
>Location: Nashville
The Green Pheasant, an izakaya (Japanese bar food) place named Best New Restaurant of 2019 by Nashville Scene, announced in early June that it would not be reopening. Chef Jessica Benefield told the Scene that the pandemic struck the restaurant with “a triple whammy” — meaning that the combination of the downturn in tourism, the cancellation of shows at Ascend Amphitheater across the street, and the fact that more people are working from home instead of in local offices made it unlikely that the izakaya could survive.
Texas: Five Sixty
> Location: Dallas
Famed chef-restaurateur Wolfgang Puck’s modern Asian restaurant on top of Dallas’s Reunion Tower, which opened in 2009, is no more. A press release blamed its demise on “scheduled improvements” to the space “in combination with the unknown timeline due to the Coronavirus.” Puck has also shuttered another of his modern Asian places, The Source, a 13-year-old establishment in Washington, D.C.
Texas: Bernie’s Burger Bus
>Location: Houston area
A pioneer of Houston’s food truck scene that grew into a brick-and-mortar restaurant mini-chain, Bernie’s announced that it was going out of business as of May 31. Its four Houston area locations — in Bellaire, Missouri City, Katy, and Houston Heights — have been felled by what owner Justin Turner told Eater Houston was a combination of “accumulating debt, decreased sales, and the rising cost of doing business” in the face of the pandemic.
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Texas: Highland Park Cafeteria
>Location: Dallas
Known for its zucchini muffins, chicken-fried steak, homemade pies, and other comfort food, this community favorite, opened in 1925, will not reopen. Addressing its customers, a statement on the restaurant website said “We would love to have a farewell event to honor you and our faithful employees, but due to the current restrictions, we won’t be able to do so.” The statement left open the possibility that the place might be revived in the future, adding “So, making no promises — but who knows? Zucchini Muffins may one day make a comeback!”
Washington: Bill’s Off Broadway
> Location: Seattle
“It is with heavy hearts,” reads a statement on the restaurant website, “we announce that after 40 years, Bill’s Off Broadway will be unable to reopen due to situations outside of our control.” On its Facebook page, Bill’s published the social media handles of some 11 employees, in case “anyone would like to show some love to the staff … .”
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Washington: Trattoria Cuoco
> Location: Seattle
Prolific Seattle restaurateur Tom Douglas temporarily closed 12 of his 13 local establishments in mid-March over coronavirus concerns. Now, he has announced that he won’t reopen this one, a popular pasta place located in one of Amazon’s buildings in the South Lake Union neighborhood. He will also close his Brave Horse Tavern in the same complex. “Many factors weighed into the determination,” he said in a statement, “but in the end, it is the appropriate choice for our business.”
Washington DC: America Eats Tavern by José Andrés
> Location: Washington DC
Peripatetic chef-restaurateur and humanitarian José Andrés opened the original America Eats in 2011 as a pop-up on the site of his Café Atlántico to coincide with an American food exhibition called “What’s Cooking, Uncle Sam?” at the National Archives. It moved from there to the suburb of Tysons Corner, Virginia, and then, two years ago, to Georgetown. In late June, a post on the restaurant’s Facebook page announced that “we will not be reopening in our current home, we look forward to revisiting this concept in the future.”
Washington D.C.: Montmartre
>Location: Washington D.C.
A 19-year-old French bistro in the Capitol Hill neighborhood, Montmartre has shut down for good. Chef Stephane Lezla worries that even with restaurants reopening, the dining-out experience won’t be the same and enough customers might not want to return. He told Eater Washington D.C. that he thinks closing was the right decision. “People need to realize it’s a matter of life, not money,” he said.
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Wisconsin: Schreiner’s Restaurant
>Location: Fond du Lac
A popular family dining destination since 1938 in this city on Lake Winnebago in eastern Wisconsin, Schreiner’s announced in late May that it was closing its doors. The decision not to reopen, according to a statement on the restaurant website, “was not one that we made easily; unfortunately, it was unavoidable and our only real option given the economics associated with the current pandemic crisis.”
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