All the restaurants we said goodbye to in 2020
To say that this year was a hard one for the hospitality industry would be an understatement.
The pandemic brought a host of challenges for restaurants and bars, and this year saw innovative marketing strategies, from take-home kits to winter-proof, outdoor dining.
And while many of our favorite restaurants will live to see the new year, numerous others closed their doors for good in 2020, after valiantly struggling to make ends meet.
Here is the list of closures we reported this year:
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Tastings, at 958 N. High St., announced via Instagram that their Short North outfit would close March 7.
“We are so grateful to all of our guests who have shown us so much love over the last couple of years,” wrote Tastings. “Thank you for exploring the vast world of wine with us as we have striven to curate a diverse and stimulating wine lists for our guests.”
Winans Chocolates + Coffees, downtown shop
Winans spent three years testing its business in Columbus’ city center before announcing via Facebook that it would close its 216 S. High St. location Aug. 7.
In a Facebook post, Winans stated that the “impacts of COVID-19 have made operations of this Winans location impractical.”
We reported in May the closure of both Miller’s Ale House locations.
At the end of spring, owners Sarah Lagrotteria and Tricia Wheeler announced they would close the cafe portion of their Clintonville business at 3870 N. High St.
Formerly located at 2973 N. High St., BLunch announced at the end of July that they were closing their urban cafe.
“We are so sad to be leaving this great community, but the pandemic has taken its toll on us many times over!” they said in a Facebook post.
After nearly 50 years in business, this Dublin institution at 4199 W. Dublin Granville Rd. closed this fall following the death this summer of William “Willi” Lalli, who owned the restaurant alongside son Nick Lalli.
“We’re closing due to COVID, 100%,” Lalli said, clarifying that the loss of business revenue during the spring shutdown and loss of banquet bookings due to COVID was what drove the business to close its doors.
Following a 48-year run, Bruno’s shuttered Dec. 13. The restaurant, located at 1774 E. Dublin-Granville Rd., announced the news Dec. 6 in a Facebook post.
“… The COVID-19 pandemic continues to threaten the lives and livelihood of us all. We here at Bruno’s have put forth tireless efforts to try and adapt to the changes needed in order to survive this unprecedented time. After 48 years of successful business, it is with tremendous disappointment that we must close our doors and turn the lights out one last time,” the post read.
Located at 716 S. High St., Ambrose and Eve earlier this month confirmed its closure. In an earlier Instagram post Nov. 13, the restaurant had attempted to raise money via GoFundMe.
“COVID has been really hard on us, as it [has] been for many,” the post said. “We have been treading water for some time now, and due to a financial situation we are unable to open this weekend but are working to resolve the issue,” the post read.
We’ll miss all the businesses on this list, and we hope the Columbus food and drink scene fares better in 2021.
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