Name: Lola Bistro has permanently closed
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Lola Bistro has permanently closed

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NEW!9,033sharesCLEVELAND, Ohio -- Lola Bistro, Michael Symon’s iconic fine-dining restaurant in downtown Cleveland, has closed permanently due to financial stress related to the coronavirus pandemic.Doug Petkovic, Symon’s business partner, confirmed the news in a phone interview with cleveland.com. Petkovic stated that some Lola employees had tested positive for COVID-19 this week, but that the decision to close had arrived earlier than that.“We didn’t close the restaurant permanently because of [the COVID-19 cases]. We closed because the pandemic made the situation untenable at the level of business we were doing,” Petkovic said. “When you do 30% of the sales you normally do, you hemorrhage money very fast.”Petkovic said that he, Symon and Liz Symon had all looked at this upcoming weekend as being the restaurant’s last weekend in business, but decided to close on Wednesday to reduce COVID-19 risk for other employees.The news comes with other closures for Symon and Petkovic’s businesses -- two out of three B-Spot locations as well.Petkovic said that Lola’s closure is intended to be permanent unless there’s an unexpected update that would allow for it to reopen.“There are forces trying to figure out ways to keep us open. Our landlord is working hard to work with us,” Petkovic said. “Is it permanent? I don’t know, but we’re closed.”When the pandemic shut down restaurants in Ohio, Lola stayed closed until June 25, when it with limited hours, along with Symon’s other restaurants in downtown Cleveland and around Northeast Ohio, like Mabel’s BBQ and B-Spot Burgers locations.Lola is Symon’s flagship restaurant; it opened in 1997 in Tremont and later moved to Cleveland’s East 4th Street neighborhood in 2005. Lola Bistro’s menu of inventive meat delicacies landed the restaurant and its chef as fine-dining stars, earning fans for signature dishes like the beef cheek pierogi and pork belly.Lola Bistro consistently landed on in Cleveland, and also around the world in its 23-year history. The restaurant and its sister restaurant Lolita (which closed due to fire damage ) earned Symon significant acclaim and celebrity status. The chef became a regular on Food Network specials, including a co-hosting gig of the show “The Melting Pot” and a win on the show “Iron Chef America” -- along with many other ongoing host and guest appearances on the network.In 2009, Symon earned a award for Best Chef, Great Lakes category.Though the closure is upsetting, Petkovic said the hardest part is knowing the staff of the restaurant will have to find new work.“We just closed a restaurant in a pandemic, where restaurant traffic is down 50-70%. Where are these people supposed to go get jobs? That’s who I feel bad for - our staff. Where will they get jobs in this pandemic?” Petkovic said. “Restaurants are brick-and-mortar, beer, wine, food, tables, chairs -- but the heart and soul of any restaurant is our crew, the people that work with us… Lola’s food was phenomenal, and there’s a reason: it’s them.”Note to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission.

NEW!9,033sharesCLEVELAND, Ohio -- Lola Bistro, Michael Symon’s iconic fine-dining restaurant in downtown Cleveland, has closed permanently due to financial stress related to the coronavirus pandemic.Doug Petkovic, Symon’s business partner, confirmed the news in a phone interview with cleveland.com. Petkovic stated that some Lola employees had tested positive for COVID-19 this week, but that the decision to close had arrived earlier than that.“We didn’t close the restaurant permanently because of [the COVID-19 cases]. We closed because the pandemic made the situation untenable at the level...

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Annie Nickoloff

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Lola Bistro has permanently closed

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