We Miss These Greater Cincinnati Restaurants That Closed in 2023

Nomad

Bellevue bar and grill Nomad, which was best known for its milkshakes (both boozy and virgin) and tater tot baskets, closed at the end of November after about three years in business. The owners say a combination of factors, including too many bad-weather days and rising food costs, forced them to permanently close.

Salazar

Salazar may be moving out of its Republic Street location, but the restaurant’s owner, chef Jose Salazar, says it will return in a bigger location. Salazar is also keeping the Republic Street spot to turn into something new and says he will announce plans for the space soon. Salazar’s last service in the original location will be on New Year’s Eve.

Taft’s Ale House

This November, Taft’s Brewing Company decided to close its flagship location, Taft’s Ale House, in Over-the-Rhine after eight years in operation. The brewery says the pandemic, a decline in tourism and the increase in the cost of goods contributed greatly to its decision to close, but owners say, ultimately, Taft’s could not compensate for a significant loss in sales since COVID began. Taft’s Brewpourium in Cincinnati and Columbus will continue to operate as normal, however.

Mecklenburg Gardens

Cincinnati’s oldest restaurant, Mecklenburg Gardens, nationally ranked as one of the best biergartens in the country and having been opened since 1865, closed permanently at the end of September. The German restaurant’s space, however, will supposedly reopen under a new owner as a new concept sometime in 2024, but details surrounding this new endeavor have been scarce.

Hathaway’s Diner

Hathaway’s Diner had been serving guests from its spot in the Carew Tower downtown for nearly 70 years before it closed for good in November. The luncheonette’s owners say between the city allowing food trucks to park near the restaurant at Fountain Square and not as many people working downtown, they were no longer able to stay open.

Fifty West Brewpub

After the pandemic shut down Fifty West Brewpub for nearly three years, the brewery tried reopening it at the beginning of 2023. However, in October, Fifty West announced it would be turning the brewpub into a rentable event space.

13th Street Alley

In August, Over-the-Rhine walk-up window 13th Street Alley posted a sign to the window saying it was permanently closed. 13th Street Alley was best known for its no-frills Philly cheesesteak, of which they offered seven varieties, along with bowls, salads and fresh-cut fries. It was the second restaurant in OTR, following Copper & Flame, to announce it was closing that month.

Pampas Argentine Gastropub

Ignite Entertainment shut down its Argentine restaurant, Pampas, in October in order to expand its O’Bryonville location of Ché into the space. The former Ché O’Bryonville was then transformed into Nuestra Cocina, which is now used for Ché’s catering and as a test kitchen, commissary and tasting room where it can host wine and spirit dinners and experiences. Not all of Pampas is gone, however. Ché O’Bryonville features some of its most popular dishes on the menu now.

B&A Street Kitchen

Popular Over-the-Rhine brunch spot B&A Street Kitchen had been serving Tex Mex and southern favorites from its dining room and walk-up window from 2017 to its closure in October. Owners Jim and Norma Kerns made the announcement on social media and thanked guests and staff for their support over the years, but didn’t offer a reason why they were closing.

Copper & Flame

Copper & Flame, known for its unique "pour-your-own-drink" concept and street food-style fare announced on social media at the end of August that it was shutting down. In the post, the bar's owner alluded to money and legal problems being behind the closure. Copper & Flame opened in June 2021, offering 68 different taps of draft beer, plus craft cocktails and wine — all priced by the ounce and poured by the individual, along with a menu of elevated street food, with a fusion of Central/South American and Southeast Asian flavors by then-chef Sydney Fisher.

Haru

Haru opened in downtown in 2017 and was best known for serving up Korean dishes like ban chan (small bowls of appetizers like kimchi and fried sweet potatoes) and a wide variety of entrees such as kimchi fried rice, sweet potato noodles (jap chae), vegetarian-friendly tofu dishes and bibimbop. It closed quietly sometime in August, with only a sign posted on the door as a notice.

Chimaek

Korean-inspired pub Chimaek, which had just opened in November 2022, surprised some when it abruptly closed this past summer. The restaurant’s owners posted notice of the closure to its Facebook page in August without offering a reason, only saying they were working on rebranding a new idea.

Keystone Bar & Grill

Covington lost its hub of mac and cheese and beer in early September when Keystone Bar & Grill closed. Dan Cronican, managing partner of 4EG, the group that owns the Keystone eateries, made the announcement on the restaurant’s social media. While he didn’t explain why the popular bar and grill was closing, he did say the closure would open doors as 4EG expands across Cincinnati, Columbus, Chicago and more. Keystone’s Mac Shack on Short Vine in Corryville, as well as their locations in Athens and the one opening in Columbus in 2024, however, are still open.

MashRoots (College Hill)

Puerto Rican eatery MashRoots announced in August that it was closing its flagship College Hill location, writing, “This decision was not an easy one, but we believe it's the right one for our business at this time.” It’s stall in Madisonville food hall Element Eatery remains open, however.

Urban Grill on Main

Urban Grill on Main, a family-owned restaurant in Newtown, closed for business in November after seven years. The owners posted the announcement on Facebook, writing, “Many families celebrated major life events here and we are happy to have been part of that with you. We’ve enjoyed many friendships which we would not otherwise have made, were it not for UG. Thank you.” They didn’t give a reason for closing but in their post encouraged people to support small businesses.

K&J Seafood

In September, the owners of K&J Seafood in Bond Hill announced on social media that despite overcoming many obstacles in the restaurant industry for the past five years, they were ready to close to pivot to other things like catering, events and product lines in order to spend more time with family. They thanked their staff and guests in the post and asked them to continue to follow the brand as they switched lanes, adding, “It’s not goodbye, it’s see you later.”

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.

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.

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.

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.