2020 and 2021 were brutal years for restaurant closings nationally and in Northeast Ohio. Cleveland lost beloved places like Lola, Greenhouse Tavern, Fire, Sokowloski’s, Crop, Spice, and countless others. While restaurant closings have slowed down overall, 2022 still came with its fair share of goodbyes.
16-Bit Bar+Arcade
15012 Detroit Ave., Lakewood
It’s “Game Over” for the Lakewood location of 16-Bit, which opened in August of 2014. The popular spot for arcade games closed in March. The closure made way for a new location (1880 West 25th St.) that opened this year Credit: Scene ArchivesOak and Embers Pinecrest
311 Park Ave., Orange Village
The barbecue restaurant at Pinecrest shut down in March. The good news for barbecue fans is that the locations in Chesterland (8009 Mayfield Rd.) and Hudson (7774 Darrow Rd.) both are doing “incredible” and will continue selling the same great mix of smoked meats, Southern comfort foods, bourbon and craft beer. Credit: Scene ArchivesLakewood AF
15208 Madison Ave., Lakewood
Lakewood AF, the combination poke and ice cream shop that opened in the former Ice Cream Joy space in the summer of 2021, permanently closed in April this year. The store was a collaboration between Cassandra Fear and Daniel Ang, owners of Fear’s Confections (15208 Madison Ave.) and Dang Good Foods (13735 Madison Ave.), respectively. Credit: Scene ArchivesFlying Fig
2523 Market Ave., Cleveland
During the past two years alone, Cleveland diners have said goodbye to a dizzying number of upscale restaurants, among them Lola, Fire, Spice, Black Pig, Greenhouse, Chinato, Bar Cento and the Plum. Unfortunately, we lost another beloved restaurant this year, when Karen Small closed her beloved Flying Fig after 23 years in business. Fear not, a new concept recently opened in the space and Small also opened her breakfast spot Juneberry Table (3900 Lorain Ave.) this year. Credit: Scene ArchivesSauce City Galley
1400 West 25th St., Cleveland
Sauce the City Galley took the place of the original Ohio City Galley but unfortunately didn’t last long. The Galley closed in early 2022 but Victor Searcy, the chef behind Sauce the City, recently opened a brick and mortar location of his beloved barbecue in University Heights (14480 Cedar Rd.) Credit: Scene ArchivesBlu, The Restaurant
3355 Richmond Rd., Beachwood
Brad Friedlander once had two of the best restaurants in town at his corner in Beachwood, Red and Moxie. Moxie made way to Blu, which unfortunately closed this year. Credit: Scene ArchivesBattiste and Dupree Cajun Grill
1992 Warrensville Center Rd., South Euclid
With the permanent closure of Battiste & Dupree Cajun Grill, the Cleveland culinary scene has suffered a devastating blow. For fans of genuine New Orleans-style Creole and Cajun food, there was no better place to go in Northeast Ohio. The restaurant closed in May with little warning. Credit: Scene Archives3 Palms Pinecrest
200 Park Ave., Orange Village
Pinecrest in Orange Village has seen quite a bit of turnover since opening in 2016. 3 Palms shuttered its doors in March, although their other two locations in Hudson (60 Village Way) and Crocker Park (27 Main St.) remain open. Credit: Scene ArchivesPearl Asian Kitchen
20060 Van Aken Blvd., Shaker Heights
When Rose Wong opened Pearl of the Orient in 1979, she saw a need for what she considered to be authentic Chinese food. To her palate, much of what was being served around Northeast Ohio bore little resemblance to the real thing. For many local diners, a visit to Pearl of the Orient was a culinary awakening that went well beyond the Americanized versions of Cantonese food served all over town. For 43 years, Pearl of the Orient was the East Side’s premier Asian eatery, a place that combined exciting food, gracious service and attractive dining spaces. That history ended in June. Credit: Scene ArchivesThirsty Dog
1085 Old River Rd., Cleveland
Thirsty Dog Brewing in the Flats, which closed in early 2022, will not be reopening, according to a spokesperson for Sly Restaurant Group, the operator of the business. Taking the place of the five-year-old outpost of the Akron-based brewery will be another concept. Next up for the nearly 10,000-square-foot space is Rum Runners, a name that doubtless conjures memories for Clevelanders of a certain age. Credit: Scene ArchivesCut151
3355 Richmond Rd., Beachwood
Brad Friedlander once had two of the best restaurants in town at his corner in Beachwood, Red and Moxie. Moxie made way to Blu and Red became Rosso Italia which became Cut151 which closed in May this year. Both restaurants were well received but had to close due to pandemic related issues. Credit: Scene ArchivesBar Cento and Bier Markt
2058 West 25th St., Cleveland
Partners Mark Priemer and Sam McNulty last October announced that the pair of longtime mainstays on West 25th St. would be closing early this year after 17 years in business. That made way for Bright Side, a new bar-forward concept from the duo. Credit: Scene ArchivesVincenza’s
603 Prospect Ave., Cleveland
Beloved downtown pizza shop Vincenza’s may have served its last slice in the summer. The closest thing to New York style pizza in downtown Cleveland originally opened in Brooklyn in 1957 and Cleveland in 1979. Geraci’s will soon take over the space. Credit: Scene ArchivesA Cookie and a Cupcake
SynDee Bergen and Wendy Thompson opened their award-winning cupcake and wedding cake bakery in Tremont in 2009, snagging Best Cupcake honors too many times to count. Along the way they upgraded shops, launched an ice cream component called Churned, and added an outpost in South Euclid.
After Christmas, the Ohio City shop at 1836 W. 25th Street will close its doors for good. Bergen and Thompson announced their decision to retire a little over a month ago, giving fans a few more opportunities to order cupcakes and cookies. Credit: Scene ArchivesRustic Restaurant
20780 Center Ridge
After a remarkable 75-year run, The Rustic Restaurant closed its doors for good in the fall. The family friendly eatery was started in 1947 by Tony Riegelsberger, who disassembled a log cabin in Michigan, put it back together in Rocky River, and opened the Rustic Drive-In. Over the many years, the restaurant has always been run by members of the Riegelsberger family, most currently Tony’s grandson Kurt. The family sold the property to Chase Bank, which likely will raze the old cabin. Credit: Scene ArchivesAdega
2017 East 9th St., Cleveland
After eight years, Adega at Metropolitan at the 9 ceased to exist this October. The Centro will take its place. “It just needed a refresh,” said General Manager Kenny Didier. “I think it was time to change it up a bit.” Centro, a “rustic Italian-inspired steakhouse with an emphasis on fresh, clean ingredients,” opened on November 4th. The all new menu features hand-cut steaks, fresh seafood, house-made pastas, and sourdough brick-oven pizzas. Credit: Scene ArchivesNorth High Brewing – Beachwood
26300 Cedar Rd., Beachwood
After just eight months, the North High Brewing outpost at Beachwood Place closed. The brewery opened in March as part of the 30,000-square-foot COhatch co-working facility in the former home of Maggiano’s Little Italy. Like the Ohio City spot of the same name, North High offered food, wine, cocktails and craft beer shipped in from the Columbus brewery. COhatch remains open while the brewery is now functioning solely as an event space. Credit: Scene ArchivesNora
2181 Murray Hill Rd., Cleveland
After cooking around town for 55 years, Carl Quagliata will open his first restaurant in Little Italy. Quagliata and his longtime chef-partner Zachary Ladner have inked a deal to take over the charming brick bistro at the corner of Murray Hill and Edgehill roads. The familiar property has been home to many restaurants over the years including Salvatore’s, Tutto Giorno, Il Bacio and, most recently, Nora, which closed a few months back. Credit: Scene ArchivesHot Chicken Takeover Strongsville
17830 Royalton Rd., Strongsville
Hot Chicken Takeover, the Columbus-based restaurant that specializes in Nashville hot chicken, closed its Strongsville location in November. The restaurant, which was in the Royalton Collection development on N. Royalton, opened in 2021. Credit: Scene ArchivesFelice
12502 Larchmere Blvd., Cleveland
For the past 14 years, Felice has earned a place as one of the east side’s most endearing restaurants. Originally opened by Margaret Mueller in 2008, the distinctive eatery resides in a beautifully restored Craftsman-style home on Larchmere. Over the years, the property – inside and out – has managed to grow better with age thanks to additions like the carriage-house bar, the artfully landscaped patio and the outdoor kitchen. That chapter of the story ends on December 23rd when Felice will close. The owners have announced a transfer of the property to Jill Vedaa and Jessica Parkison of beloved Lakewood tapas spot Salt+, who will open a new restaurant in spring. Credit: Scene ArchivesRed Lobster in Beachwood
3655 Orange Place
The Beachwood location opened on November 22, 1977. Back then, a diner could enjoy a steaming cup of New England clam chowder for 49 cents, a half dozen fried oysters (under the Delights in Armor section) for $2.29 and an entire Maine lobster – broiled and stuffed with crabmeat dressing – for just $6.59. The Landlubbers in the group could dig into a New York strip steak with with potato and garlic bread for $4.95. Credit: Red LobsterBoiler 65
Multiple locations, all closed
The seafood-in-a-bag concept debuted in 2017, when it converted much of the St. Helena Romanian Byzantine Catholic Church in the heart of Gordon Square into a 150-seat restaurant. At that time, Boiler 65 was just the second restaurant in Northeast Ohio to hop on the Cajun-style seafood trend, following Lee’s Seafood Boil (formerly Boiling Seafood) in Cleveland Heights and preceding dozens of others.
Boiler 65 expanded by adding locations in Bedford and S. Euclid, both of which are also closed. Credit: Google MapsLuchita’s
3456 W. 117th St.
After immigrating to Cleveland from Mexico City, Maria de la Luz Galindo realized her dream of opening a restaurant in her new hometown. In 1982, at the age of 62, Galindo opened Luchita’s Mexican Restaurant on Cleveland’s west side. The restaurant quickly became a staple in the community, serving many local residents their first taste of authentic Mexican cooking. For the past 15 years, the restaurant has been owned and operated by Eduardo Galindo after his grandmother retired. “Luchita” passed away in 2016 at the age of 97. Sadly, after a remarkable 40-year run, the restaurant closed its doors last summer. Credit: Google Maps
