It’s the end of an era: Taste of Belgium has closed its Over-the-Rhine bistro after 14 years.
Sunday, Sept. 7 was the last day in business for the embattled Taste of Belgium’s Vine Street location. The restaurant shared that, recently, the number of guests it’s been serving has faced a significant decline.
In a press release, Taste of Belgium says that when it first opened its bistro at The Banks in 2015, it was to help serve the thousands of GE employees who supported lunchtime and happy hour business and having one location in OTR and another near the riverfront made sense. However, with the closure of GE downtown and a shift to more remote work, creating less office density and traffic in the area, having two restaurants a mile apart was no longer sustainable.
Jean-François Flechet, the founder of Taste of Belgium, says The Banks location, unlike OTR’s, is showing slow growth and will remain open. It will celebrate its 10th anniversary next month.
“Closing our Over-the-Rhine bistro is heartbreaking,” Flechet said. “This was our very first full-service restaurant and has been part of the OTR neighborhood for 14 years. It holds a special place in our history and Cincinnati’s history as a gathering place that contributed to the energy and revitalization of OTR. We hope that people will continue to frequent our bistros at The Banks and Rookwood, as well as their other favorite locally-owned restaurants, since so many continue to struggle.”
Taste of Belgium opened its Vine Street restaurant in August 2011 after a successful start at Findlay Market. It was the restaurant’s first full-service location, serving its famous Liège-style waffles for breakfast, lunch, dinner and brunch on the weekends. It was also part of a series of restaurants that opened during OTR’s revitalization of the area south of Liberty Street.
“For more than a decade, we’ve had the privilege of working in partnership with Jean-Francois Flechet, whose vision for Taste of Belgium helped ignite Over-the-Rhine’s culinary revival,” said Christy Samad, 3CDC’s executive vice president of Civic and Commercial Space Activation. “He, along with other trailblazers in the industry, like Jean-Robert de Cavel, Dan Wright, Thunderdome Restaurant Group and 4EG, laid the foundation for what OTR has become — a vibrant, diverse, and eclectic neighborhood. While we are sad to see Taste of Belgium go, we are forever grateful for the role Jean-Francois played in reshaping OTR. His commitment to the area helped transform it from a place once known for its challenges into one of Cincinnati’s most dynamic dining and cultural destinations.”
In recent years, Taste of Belgium has had to shut down all but now three of its 11 locations that were located across the Greater Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky and Dayton regions. The restaurant group has also faced mounting legal trouble following its spate of closures, including lawsuits for unpaid rent and loans, according to court documents.
Taste of Belgium, 3825 Edwards Road, Norwood; 16 W. Freedom Way, The Banks; 1801 Race St., Over-the-Rhine (Findlay Market). More info: tasteofbelgium.com.
