Note: This story has been updated to include comments from restaurant co‑owner Bill Watson.
A restaurant that has been part of downtown West Palm Beach for more than a quarter century is preparing to close. City Cellar at CityPlace disclosed plans this week that would affect nearly 100 employees.
Barrio, the sibling eatery to City Cellar, will also shut.
City Cellar’s impending May 24 closure surfaced through a required filing under the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, commonly known as WARN.
WARN requires certain employers to give at least 60 days’ notice when either a business closure or mass layoff will affect a significant number of workers. The intent is to give employees time to prepare for job loss and to alert state and local agencies so assistance can be coordinated.
In a filing dated March 25, City Cellar disclosed plans to close its Rosemary Avenue restaurant on May 24, a move that will affect 96 employees across front‑ and back‑of‑house positions. The filing cites the end of the restaurant’s lease as the reason for the closure.
Co‑owner Bill Watson said the decision followed a broader look at the restaurant’s future after a long run downtown. “We had a great 25 years,” Watson said. “The restaurant benefited our company in a lot of ways, but it was time to go. Renewing the lease just wasn’t part of our future.”
A CityPlace #OG restaurant
City Cellar opened in 2000 as part of CityPlace’s original restaurant lineup, making it one of the longest‑running dining fixtures in the downtown development. For years, it served as a reliable gathering place for office workers, theatergoers and professionals alike.
In earlier years, City Cellar was also a popular spot for business lunches, drawing attorneys and judges from the Palm Beach County courthouse.
“It was the cafeteria for the courthouse,” Watson said. Attorneys, judges, business leaders and journalists were regulars, he said. “If you wanted to know who was who around West Palm Beach, that’s where you went to lunch.”
Corks + Forks catering founder Melanie Ober was a fan from its early days and is sad to see it go.
“Pre-Covid, City Cellar was one of our go-to spots — its by-the-glass program was always thoughtfully curated, featuring wines beyond the typical supermarket selections. They offered a chef-driven menu and a professional, attentive team, who consistently delivered a well-rounded and elevated dining experience.”
Who owns City Cellar?
Big Time Restaurant Group is a South Florida–based hospitality company founded in the early 1990s by Todd Herbst, Bill Watson and Lisabet Summa. It operates multiple restaurant concepts across Palm Beach and Broward counties, including City Cellar, Elisabetta’s Ristorante, City Oyster & Sushi Bar, Bar Capri and Louie Bossi’s Ristorante, Bar and Pizzeria.
Watson said one of the company’s priorities during the wind‑down is helping City Cellar employees transition to new jobs within the restaurant group, adding the company plans to move as many staff members as possible into open positions.
“Our primary concern is getting jobs for the people who work there,” Watson said. “We’re working on that, and we’re going to be successful.”
Even as dining trends shifted downtown, City Cellar remains a steady draw. On OpenTable, the restaurant holds a 4.3‑star rating based on more than 3,400 diner reviews.
While City Cellar’s closure will leave a vacancy at CityPlace, Big Time Restaurant Group will maintain a downtown presence through Bar Capri and Elisabetta’s, both located nearby.
The closing marks the end of a 25‑year run for a restaurant that opened alongside CityPlace itself and became part of the daily rhythm of downtown West Palm Beach.
A Related Ross spokesperson said City Cellar had been “a valued part of the CityPlace community for more than 25 years” and thanked guests and employees for their support, adding that the company wishes Big Time Restaurant Group continued success.
Alexandra Clough is a business writer at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at aclough@pbpost.com. X: @acloughpbp. Diana Biederman is the Palm Beach Post’s food and restaurant writer. Care to share news tips about the local dining scene? Please send them to dbiederman@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today and sign up for our free At the Table weekly newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: A CityPlace original restaurant to close after 25 years in West Palm
Reporting by Diana Biederman and Alexandra Clough, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
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