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Fried chicken restaurant Luella’s Gospel Chicken has permanently closed in the Bucktown neighborhood of Chicago after less than two years in business.
Owner Darnell Reed told Eater that the Bucktown location of Luella’s won’t reopen after the coronavirus pandemic. Reed also operates Luella’s Southern Kitchen in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of Chicago, which is still open and taking delivery and takeout orders for now.
Co-owners Craig and Annie Stoll, who currently run Delfina and Pizzeria Delfina, announced their decision to permanently close Locanda when restaurants are formally allowed to reopen.
“Even though it was busy, it was never really profitable,” Stoll said to the SF Chronicle when the restaurant closed on March 20 for good.
On the restaurant’s Instagram account, the co-owners blamed the closure on COVID-19 and alerted customers their remaining restaurants are providing takeout and delivery.
On March 13, the 36-year-old NYC restaurant sent an email to customers informing them the last day of service would be March 14.
In 2019, Michelin-starred and James Beard nominated chef Alfred Portale left the restaurant to open his own restaurant, Portale in Chelsea. He was succeeded by chef Victoria Blamey who couldn’t turn the fine dining establishment around without Portale.
The restaurant’s closing was only partially due to the coronavirus pandemic according to a company statement in Eater.
“We have been forced to make the very difficult decision to close the Gotham after 36 wonderful years because the unforeseen situation created by the coronavirus has made operation of the restaurant untenable,” read the statement.
The Dallas restaurant The LOT was indoor/outdoor, relying on the nice spring weather for business.
“We were going along hoping spring would be a great season for us this year," said owner John McBride to Dallas News. “When you take days or weeks out of that season, it becomes virtually impossible.”
McBride operates El Vecino in Dallas as well and that restaurant is managing to stay afloat through takeout and delivery business at the moment.
After 27 years in business, Swingers in Los Angeles closed permanently on April 1.
Committed Inc., the owners of Swingers, also closed the casual British pub Pikey in Los Angeles at the same time. Committed Inc. stated that the restaurant would not be reopening after the coronavirus pandemic for which it initially suspended service on March 16.
A second location of Swingers closed in August 2019 in Santa Monica.
The restaurant posted on its Facebook page thanking customers for their loyal support over the years and a link to a GoFundMe for the employees who are out of work.
Opening in Brooklyn in 2003, this third-wave coffee shop announced the closure of both its locations on Instagram citing challenges maintaining operations during coronavirus closures.
“As the weeks progressed and we experienced the same challenges that many small businesses in the hospitality industry are facing, we have had to make the difficult decision to close our cafes at these locations for the long haul,” Gimme Coffee’s Instagram post said.
The original location in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and the second in the Nolita neighborhood of Manhattan have both permanently closed.
The company is still shipping beans and other goods from its Ithaca, N.Y.-headquarters where a portion of the profits will go to a relief fund for baristas.
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