This is the saddest restaurant closing news I’ve passed on. Melillo’s, the cozy Italian-American spot on East Market, will be shuttering at the end of the year. According to owner Michele Melillo-Clem’s posting on the Louisville HotBytes forum:
Melillo’s has taken the hit from the economy, food costs, taxes, etc. and there is no one out there to bail us out, unfortunately. We will be closing our doors at the end of the year. Our regular business hours will remain through November and during the month of December we will be open for dinner only on Friday and Saturday evenings. We have a lot of Holiday party obligations that we will be fulfilling and still have openings in December for more parties if you know anyone looking for a cozy place to host an event.
If you still need to book your office party or some other social gathering do it at Melillo’s while you still can.
This so sad to me because I’m really a fan of Melillo’s food and it’s a perfect lunch spot for meetings between those who work downtown and those in say, the Highlands. And they have a really, really good cheese lasagna. Do you know how hard finding a good vegetarian lasagna is? Sigh. Thanks for all the good food you’ve provided Melillo’s, I’m very sorry to see you go.
Update: Local blogger and entrepreneur Todd Earwood put together a video blog post on supporting local restaurants and helping them survive.
November 20th, 2008 at 8:24 am
I officially have nowhere to eat in a 4-mile radius of my home. I can’t believe I moved downtown…
November 20th, 2008 at 8:28 am
Jeez, between them and Brownings, where do I go to eat a nice but not crazy expensive meal in east downtown now? I love Artemisia and Mayan Cafe but those aren’t everyday places for me.
November 20th, 2008 at 8:30 am
I feel like I owe these people a personal apology. I am the kiss of death; perhaps I should just shut the heck up about downtown restaurants. First Jenicca’s and now Melillo’s. Two reviews in a row!
http://www.loueyville.com
November 20th, 2008 at 9:47 am
Melillo’s is my all-time favorite Americanized Italian joint and I eat there way too often, so take my bitterness with a grain of salt…
But…
Isn’t it really fancy how we can funnel millions and millions into ridiculous projects like Center Center and the waste that is “4th Street Live!” but never do anything to ensure that local– and popular– businesses are able to function?
November 20th, 2008 at 10:04 am
I’ve thought the same thing Jake. Louisville’s independent restaurant community is one of the city’s best assets and the city has (or at least should have) a vested interest in independent restaurants surviving. I wish and hope we’ll see some action forthcoming from the city to slow the number of independent restaurants closing.
November 20th, 2008 at 10:05 am
(Center CITY, that is…)
November 20th, 2008 at 10:18 am
Jacob:
I disagree with part of what you said. If a business is popular, it will succeed. If it is unpopular, it won’t. There is no magic formula here.
Also, I have been to both Melillo’s and Fourth Street Live, and I can tell you that they had vastly different target markets. Fourth Street Live is not the reason Melillo’s (and Primo, and Jennica’s) closed.
November 20th, 2008 at 10:21 am
Michelle- thanks for the official scoop. I hate it for Ashley and her family. I wholeheartedly agree that our local restaurants are a MAJOR asset for this community and I hope this is not a forecast of what’s to come with others.
November 20th, 2008 at 10:26 am
Is there some way to get the word out that places are “on the brink” of closing BEFORE they make the decision to close? I just watched Todd Earwood’s video and I’m wondering if there isn’t some way to spread the word that a particular beloved eatery needs help. Melillo’s was too expensive for “everyday” eating out for me, but had I known they were teetering, I would have gone in more often for a glass of wine and an appetizer. Sheesh, I certainly would have dumped more money into Jenicca’s if I had known they had a “life or death” thing going on. My paltry dining out budget isn’t going to save anyone, but multiply my budget by dozens on a regular basis and….??
November 20th, 2008 at 11:37 am
East Market is rapidly becoming a ghost town and what is our ‘Mayor-for-Life’ doing? Offering millions to expand 4th St. Live.
Our leaders are really our enemies.
Vote Jerry Abramson out of office.
He has no plan to support local business. He has no plan to provide local public transportation. He has no plan for the waterfront or neighborhood integration. He is just in it to look good. He’s the Charlie Crist of Louisville, The George W. Bush of the Derby City. He’s incompetent. I called him the other day and got an assistant on the telephone and he couldn’t even name a single business that had closed in this corridor.
I am so angry at our Mayor for neglecting this corridor. It could have been great.
Instead it’s a no-fly zone.
November 20th, 2008 at 3:45 pm
Like I said on my own website, Henry, that’s partially true. Among other factors.
But Melillo’s is one of the most popular restaurants in the city. So popular that it can’t even accept reservations.
And Fourth Street and Center City ARE part of this problem. All of our tax dollars are being fed into projects like those short-term, college-kid-target-audience build-ups while long-term things like developing strong, local business is ignored.
As someone who has developed a strong business here in the city, I’ve been blown away at how incompetent GLI and the Mayor’s office are when it comes to doing anything to further local development and our local economy.
November 20th, 2008 at 4:22 pm
Oh mi coro…
I love that Italian hotspot. I went there for my birthday just shortly after they had opened and haven’t been able to stop since.
What a heartbreak for a restaurant that serves such fare….you sure aren’t going to get it at that Olive place….
I hadn’t heard about Jennica’s either….
Oy!!!!
November 20th, 2008 at 10:01 pm
4th Street Live is only still in business because of land deals and tax breaks. If they had to compete on a level playing field, the place would be history.
For the first time, I agree that Mayor Jerry needs to go. As local businesses fold one after another, his silence is deafening.