Italian Village brewery and eatery closes its doors for good

After 3.5 years of serving the Italian Village community, Zaftig Brew Pub at 119 E. 5th Ave. is closed, effective immediately. Their coffee and breakfast concept, Java Central Italian Village, in the same building, will also close indefinitely. 

In a statement posted on Instagram, Zaftig said, “We thank you for supporting us for the last 3.5 years as we navigated a very difficult time for restaurants. Ultimately, we have continued to see a reduction of customers that has driven us to this most difficult decision.”

Founder Jim Gokenbach mentioned he’s had a streak of bad luck, mostly stemming back all the way to the pandemic. “The long and short of it is we were open for 3.5 years, and opened 3 months before Covid, and we’ve had a run of bad luck and lots of ups and downs.”

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Customers are voicing their disappointment and well-wishes via Instagram comments. “I’m going to miss that burger and house made buffalo sauce so much,” said one customer. “That’s a real shame…the food there was excellent,” read another. 

There’s still a way to get your craft beer fix and to show some support, though. The Zaftig Brewery and Taproom located at 7020 Huntley Rd. in Worthington still remains open after being a neighborhood favorite for the past 10 years. Although this Worthington location doesn’t feature the pub-inspired food menu that many patrons will miss from the Italian Village spot, their laid-back taproom serves pizza rolls from DiCarlo’s every Monday to pair with their rotating selection of hand-crafted beers, wine, and liquor. Plus, local food trucks are parked out front almost every day. 

On a more positive note, Gokenbach and the Zaftig management team said, “We put a lot of passion into this space and know that we were able to bring joy and friendship over the love of craft beer and food. We really appreciate your loyalty and support throughout the years.”

Want to read more? Check out our print publication, (614) Magazine. Learn where you can find a free copy of our new June issue here!

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