The text of “Auld Lang Syne” is an 18th-century Scots language poem by Robert Burns, but as valedictory Scottish folk songs go, “The Parting Glass” precedes it.
Somehow it managed to escape almost everyone’s attention that Amici Café (316 W. Ormsby), which specialized in Northern Italian cuisine, permanently closed at the end of October when its lease expired. According to Michael L. Jones at Louisville Business First, owner Don Reinhardt Jr. said inconsistent pandemic business patterns simply didn’t justify a new lease.
“(The property manager) had been nice enough for the previous 10 months to reduce my rent. But he came back in August and said, ‘We’re going to go back to full rent and I’m raising your rent.’ I couldn’t afford it. I was not even doing half what I used to do. I couldn’t get enough staff to even open back up for lunch,” Reinhardt explained.
Two other closing notices appeared on social media this week: Faces Bar/Bistro (1604 Bardstown Road) and The Fuelery Restaurant and Café (1211 Frankfort Avenue). Note that Faces will remain open into next week, so there’s time to raise your glass in person.
Full text of the Faces Bar/Bistro announcement, from Eric Morris:
Hello friends…
If you haven’t already heard through a few media outlets, we will be closing our doors in the next two weeks. We have been actively searching for a new location for nearly a year at this point but have yet to find the one that fits.
*before we give you a brief summary as to why, we ask that you try to help support us these last two weeks for our staff’s sake. Come say high and bye, and try to tip well if you can while they make the transition onto something new. Everything will be served fresh until the very last day!
It’s just been a constant struggle in covid world (for us and everyone else) being such a small space and with little to no outdoor dining space. All odds were against us from the jump. When we had our grand opening it was at mandated 33% capacity at 6ft apart, which gave us about 14 seats to work with. We were like deer in headlights.
However amidst all the stress and chaos, we always had fun! We were constantly trying to create fun and funky new dishes and cocktails, challenging ourselves with interesting vegan ideas, and got super weird with pizza haha! It was a memorable experience and there is plenty of good to outweigh the bad!
As of January we will have a drastic rent increase that kind of seals the deal on this decision but we feel it is the right one to make for now.
We will still be on the lookout for a new location that is more adaptable for these times and hopefully we’ll come back stronger than ever….and way less stressed 😂.
Thanks for your support throughout our brief stay here in the highlands in this little restaurant with no identity. It’s been a wild ride!!!
Full text of The Fuelery announcement:
It is with heavy hearts and minds that we make this announcement…
But as of 12/31, we will be permanently closed for business.
The world is a different world now than what it’s been in the past, particularly in the hospitality industry. What may have worked then, or in the future, now gets pushed to the limits to survive. This pandemic has taken its toll on everyone, in so many ways, and unfortunately we are not exempt from those effects.
We did the best we could for all of you, to provide a welcoming, clean, and bright environment, with delicious food made with local products. We’re proud to say we believe we did exactly that. So this is not a moment for sadness. We can all walk away with our heads held high knowing we did everything we could, and made a lot of people happy in the process.
So with that being said, we’d like to say THANK YOU to everyone who has supported us since we opened. This has been an educating and growing experience for the whole team, and we couldn’t have done it without all of you.
If you’d like to see us before we close, feel free to come in and tell us your favorite part about your times with us!
As a heads up, supplies will be limited as the week goes on, as we use what supplies we have left and make sure nothing goes to waste.
Thank you all again. You’ve been great!
