My Favorite Restaurant Closed!
Since I operate food tours in several Cincinnati neighborhoods, I guess it’s inevitable that some restaurant partners will come and go. Still, when I find out one of my favorite stops is closing or moving, I feel like I’ve lost a friend. After years of building a relationship, I suddenly have an empty place not only in my heart, but also in my tour itinerary.
In the past month, I’ve been hit with the double-whammy. One of our shining stars, Just Q’in, closed its Walnut Hills location to consolidate services at their College Hill restaurant. Just Q’in was always a highlight of our Walnut Hills Food and Drink Tour. I called it my “tour within a tour” because they would always take us out back to see the smokers and share the secrets of how they make some of the best barbecue in town. Gone but not forgotten in Walnut Hills. Hoping to see you soon in College Hill.
Just Q’in Walnut Hills
We also recently lost one of our favorite restaurants on the Hyde Park Food and Drink Tour. MexCantina served up a killer taco, and who doesn’t love a good Margarita? The prime location at Erie and Edwards Road won’t be vacate for long, but we will miss the “Bienvenidos!” and the homemade tortillas waiting for us each visit.
There have been so many through the years. I long for the days of French Crust and Goose & Elder near Findlay Market, and Boomtown Biscuits in Pendleton. Or going way back, I miss Taft’s Ale House, O Pie O, Pleasantry, Panino, and Revolution Rotisserie in OTR.
Each of these small businesses had its own reason for closing. Often it is something as simple as the lease is ending, and it’s time to move on. Other times, the restaurant owners are just exhausted and spread too thin. And still others, of course, are forced to close due to lack of customers. Fortunately for us in Cincinnati as a food tour operator, there always seems to be another delicious spot right around the corner.
If there is a silver lining for us when a restaurant partner closes, it is that it forces us to get creative. Since we have always maintained a large portfolio of partners, more restaurants than we could ever include in one tour, we do have a Plan B. And a Plan C. And beyond that, we are flexible enough to juggle our itinerary and vary our walking routes. We love trying new restaurants, and we know our returning customers appreciate new experiences.
When one door closes, another door opens. And Cincinnati Food Tours is always eager to open that door to taste the next best thing in Cincinnati.