15 Greater Cincinnati Restaurants That Closed So Far This Year

Symposium

This East Walnut Hills cafe and wine bar shut its doors for good on June 12, with the owners writing on social media, “the day we wished never to come has arrived. Aaron & I would be immensely grateful if you would share your Symposium photos and memories with us via DM or in the comments with the hashtag #SymposiumForever. we love you all so much.” No reason for the closure was given. Symposium opened in May 2022 sporting a relaxed, Hemingway cafe-style atmosphere, with three bars, a main dining room with a lounge known as The Nest, a private dining and event space and a small outdoor patio for early birds and night owls alike. Each bar served something different: one for drinks (they were best known for their avian-inspired cocktails, or “Birdtails”), another for coffee and the final had food. Owners J. Matt Nickels and chef Aaron Owen told CityBeat at the time that they wanted Symposium to also embody the stories of old Italy told to them by family. Owen also shut down his Over-the-Rhine sandwich shop, Ole Republic Larder.

PearlStar

Nashville restaurateur Terry Raley permanently closed this popular oyster spot in Over-the-Rhine without warning in February and deleted its social media. PearlStar opened in the fall of 2021 in the former A Tavola storefront on Vine Street. The restaurant, highly anticipated at the time, offered both East and West Coast oysters and other raw delicacies such as crudo, ceviche and tartare. The kitchen also featured a wood-burning grill to create (non-raw) burgers and steak sandwiches, and the menu included items for vegans and vegetarians. "We didn’t want to do just seafood; we really wanted it to be a place where you can have something for everyone," culinary and operations director Leroy Ansley said before opening. But Cincinnati oyster lovers can celebrate because a new oyster spot is opening up in PearlStar’s place; veteran restaurateurs and owners of The Pony and Liberty’s Bar & Bottle Garth Lieb and Tom Stephen signed a lease with 3CDC for the spot in May.

Royce

Like its sister restaurant PearlStar, Royce was shuttered suddenly in February by Raley. He had launched Royce in August 2022, just a mile south of PearlStar, inside 3CDC’s $51-million development The Foundry in Fountain Square. With Raley dubbing it a "modern French brasserie," Royce offered a French-leaning menu and featured a raw bar. Thunderdome Restaurant Group recently signed a lease for the space and says it's planning an American-style brasserie, with a polished atmosphere and a seasonally changing menu drawing inspiration from rustic dishes from Italy, France and the U.S.

Jack Brown’s Beer & Burger Joint

Jack Brown’s Beer & Burger Joint, part of a larger chain that began in Harrisonburg, Virginia, closed its Over-the-Rhine location, the only one in Ohio, suddenly in late April. The chain didn’t give a reason for the closure, only writing “Permanently closed April 23, 2023. Thanks for the memories!!!!” on the webpage for the Cincinnati location. The closest location you can grab one of their signature burgers or deep-fried Oreos now is in Lexington.

Spoon: Kitchen & Market

Spoon: Kitchen & Market was a neighborhood bistro, cafe and grocery shop in Covington that placed a heavy focus on sustainability, fresh ingredients that were in season and locally sourced and community. It closed in March, with the restaurant saying the world had changed too much since it first opened its doors in 2019 to continue its mission to provide local foods rooted in sustainability. “We would like to thank everyone that has made this journey possible. Along the way we’ve made an abundance of new friends and been a part of countless special moments in the Mainstrasse community,” the restaurant wrote on its website. “Thank you again to everyone that believed and supported us along the way.”

Qlicious Bubble Tea & Pastries (Liberty Township)

Mason’s Queens Bakery also owns Qlicious in Over-the-Rhine and owned another location at Liberty Center until the beginning of June. The bubble tea and pastry spot posted to Facebook on May 31 about the closure, saying they received an email the day before that their lease was being terminated and that Liberty Center signed another tenant to the space. Queens Bakery said they had been working with Liberty Center since January to renew a long-term release. “Nobody even ever told us once or asked us once if we want to stay then just signed to somebody else,” the bakery wrote.

Khora

Once lauded by Food & Wine and Vogue as one of the “most anticipated” restaurants opening in 2020, the Kinley Hotel restaurant Khora closed for good in April after the hotel’s general manager told CityBeat just weeks before that it wanted to move in a different direction. Before it opened, Khora received national attention due to its staffing dream team that included chefs Kevin Ashworth and Edward Lee, pastry chef Megan Ketover and general manager Blair Bowman. It was even on track to be named by Esquire as one of the nation’s best new restaurants that year, but that fell apart after the hotel’s corporate owners fired Ashworth and Lee, followed shortly by the departure of Ketover and Bowman late in 2021. Khora closed temporarily in 2021 then quietly reopened the next year. And while the original iteration of Khora focused on pastas made from unusual grains, the new menu had shifted focus away from that.

Wahlburgers

Wahlburgers, a burger restaurant and bar chain owned by chef Paul Wahlberg and his brothers, actor Mark and singer Donnie, opened a franchise in downtown Cincinnati in early 2018. But by the end of March this year, a sign posted to the door of the restaurant told patrons it had closed. A reason hasn’t been given. The nearest Wahlburgers now is at Hollywood Gaming in Dayton.

Mighty Good: Meat ‘n Three

Mighty Good, known for its Southern-style fare where customers got to choose one meat and three sides, closed permanently in February. The restaurant opened its doors in October 2021 with offerings like catfish, hushpuppies and other Southern favorites. While Mighty Good’s owners didn’t give a reason for the closure, they wrote on Instagram, “The thing we want to say first and foremost is — thank you, thank you to all of our loyal customers, our in-town and out-of-town visitors, and our cheerleaders behind the scenes,” the restaurant wrote in an Instagram post. “We enjoyed every single conversation, took pride in every dish we made, and loved getting to know you and your families. We will miss seeing market shoppers stopping in for Saturday morning brunch and weekday lunch with friends.” In June, Findlay Market’s Eckerlin Meats moved into the former Mighty Good space temporarily while their space undergoes renovations.

House of Orange Sports Bar & Grill

In April, this popular spot to watch an FC Cincinnati match shut its doors and posted a note outside reading, “Thank you to all our patrons who have shared memories with us over the past few years. The House of Orange is closed indefinitely.” House of Orange is listed as permanently closed on Google, its website has been deactivated and its social media hasn’t been updated since March.

Porta Nera

Sharonville’s Porta Nera closed at the beginning of June – but thankfully not for good. The Italian American restaurant known for bringing Little Italy’s heritage to the Greater Cincinnati area closed temporarily to move to a new location. Porta Nera also says it entered a partnership with a local restaurant group to bolster its position in the community and aid them in providing diners an unforgettable dining experience. “The decision to move wasn’t made lightly, but we are confident that this temporary closure will pave the way for bigger and better opportunities,” owner and chef Aaron Boehm said in a press release. “Our partnership with one of the region’s most respected restaurant groups promises to enhance Porta Nera’s rich potential while infusing it with a renewed sense of vibrancy and innovation. We can’t wait to share what we’ve been cooking up.”

Pontiac

This Over-the-Rhine BBQ joint and bar closed with little fanfare sometime this spring. While Pontiac closed temporarily in 2020 to rebrand during the pandemic, a Google search now comes up as it being “permanently closed,” and the restaurant changed its Instagram bio to read “Eternal Rest 2015-2023.” The building will stay a BBQ joint, however, as Madisonville’s popular Bee’s Barbecue plans to open a second location there.

Latitudes Bar & Bistro

Hailed as one of the best restaurants in town by America’s Best Restaurants, Anderson Township’s Latitudes Bar & Bistro served up everything from steaks and pastas to burgers and flatbreads. It was also a hub for entertainment, with something going on almost every night, according to its website. The bar and bistro posted to Facebook in June announcing the closure, writing, “It is with a heavy heart that we announce the closing of Latitudes. Everything ends. Make sure you enjoy the moments that make life special. Recognize those moments. Take time to cherish the small things because in a flash they are gone Thank you to everyone that made Latitudes Bar & Bistro a very special place.”

The Glenway Frisch’s

A Frisch’s that had sat on its Glenway corner for decades quietly closed for good, shocking many of its regular West Side patrons. A note posted to the door in June read, “We are sorry, this location is being closed permanently. Please visit us at one of our other locations … It was our pleasure serving you and we hope to see you soon.” Frisch’s told local news outlets that the decision to close the 75-year-old location was difficult, but they want to continue to grow and change with the times, and they also have to make decisions to fight the impact of inflation.

Bonomini Bakery

This longtime Northside bakery closed suddenly after its owner suffered a stroke in February. “Due to this,” a sign posted on the door read, “the family has decided to focus on health and family and suspend business until further notice. Thank you for your patronage, prayers, & understanding.” The business is still listed as “temporarily closed” on Google.