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Momofuku Group, Ditka’s, Nacional 27 and more restaurants permanently close, even as others begin to reopen

For the following restaurants, COVID-19 was the last straw

Holly Petre, Assistant Digital Editor

June 9, 2020

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Most U.S. states have lifted restrictions on dine-in service to some degree, allowing diners to re-enter restaurants once again — albeit socially distanced. But the reopening also brought sad news as consumers realized some of their favorite restaurants had permanently closed.

Momofuku Group, helmed by David Chang, closed two of its restaurants in May with plans to relocate a third to which Chang said, “at the end of the day this was the only viable option.”

Another big group, Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, based in Chicago, closed one of its restaurants. Nacional 27 was known for Latin food and dancing but couldn’t survive the financial strain of the COVID-19 pandemic. The group hasn’t announced any further plans to close other restaurants in Chicagoland.

But that wasn’t the only midwestern restaurant to get hit. Ditka’s, the namesake restaurant of the former Chicago Bears coach, closed in downtown Chicago after some drama behind-the-scenes with the hotel owner in which the restaurant was located. Ditka simply replied, “Things change. The world isn’t going away because we are closing.”

See what other restaurants have fallen this month in our roundup of restaurant closures.

Contact Holly at [email protected]

About the Author

Holly Petre

Assistant Digital Editor

Holly Petre is a digital editor for Nation’s Restaurant News as well as the host of NRN’s podcast, Extra Serving, and producer for Informa Restaurant and Food Group’s other three podcasts, One On One by Food Management, Off the Shelf with SN and In the Kitchen with Bret Thorn. Holly holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts with a concentration in Sculpture, fibers and Material Studies and Ceramics from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. A native New Yorker, Holly enjoys her place on staff as the resident pop-culture expert and millennial with a sassy attitude and great sense of style.

Holly Petre’s work on Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality often covers marketing and trends, either aimed-at or examined-through the millennial mindset. Holly is responsible for introducing TikTok and Twitch to NRN and RH readers as well as explaining terms like “Karen” to staff and readers alike. She also spends her time on staff trying not to make every headline a pun.

Holly Petre hasn’t spoken at any events or on panels, but she is readily available with a killer shoe wardrobe and several witty quips.

 

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