A new study found that 60% of restaurants that opened in Cincinnati between 2008 and 2023 eventually closed.
University of Cincinnati doctoral student Hannah Dahlke reviewed more than 10,000 city food service licenses for independently-owned restaurants across a 15-year time period. It resulted in 2,231 dining spots within Cincinnati’s city limits − over half of which eventually closed. Of those, fewer than 8% closed in their first year.
Per the study, closures spiked in 2009 and in 2022, just after the Great Recession and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dahlke also found that more restaurants closed in areas with more restaurants and higher crime rates. Most of them were Downtown or in Over-the-Rhine, according to a graphic map published by Dahlke.
Enquirer food and dining writer Keith Pandolfi lamented the 10 most “hearbreaking” closures of 2023, which included Salazar in Over-the-Rhine, a city staple that reopened last fall Downtown.
In July, Good Plates Eatery in Clifton Heights announced its closure after six years in business. The Enquirer also reported that Le Bar a Boeuf in East Walnut Hills, the last remaining restaurant from chef Jean-Robert de Cavel, will close on Aug. 1. It opened in 2015.
Keith Pandolfi contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: UC study shows over half of new restaurants closed during 15-year span
Reporting by Sydney Franklin, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Sydney Franklin, Cincinnati Enquirer | USA TODAY Network
