Iconic ‘foodie’s dream’ restaurant closing after 18-year run | Official Website of Louis Velazquez, entrepreneur, finance guy and tech innovator

No matter your go-to cuisine, going out to dinner may rank pretty highly on your list of favorite activities.

There’s just something so fun and relaxing about having a professional chef cook you a meal you didn’t have to buy your own groceries for.

And let’s face it — when you’re nice and full after a delicious plate of food, the last thing you want is to have to clean up after yourself. At a restaurant, you don’t have to. So it’s often worth paying extra to enjoy a meal outside the home.

But even though so many people love dining out and are willing to prioritize restaurant meals in their household budgets, the industry has been struggling in recent years.

Not only did the Covid pandemic do a number on restaurants in 2020, but in the years that followed, restaurants were plagued by rising costs and shrinking margins. As a result, a number of popular restaurants have closed or filed for bankruptcy over the past couple of years.

Some of them are chains you’re probably familiar with, like Red Lobster, which filed for Chapter 11 in May of 2024.

TGI Fridays was another well-visited chain that ended up filing for bankruptcy last year. Despite its fun atmosphere and menu, declining sales were a problem.

If major chains are having a hard time staying open, it unfortunately does not bode well for local restaurants — even those with packed houses every night.

An iconic “foodie’s dream” restaurant closes after an 18-year run.

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A local favorite restaurant is closing its doors for good

Grand Rapids, Mich., may not be known on a national level for its food scene. But the city boasts a surprising array of unique dining establishments, from craft breweries to farm-to-table restaurants.

One of the more popular restaurants in town has long been The Green Well, which opened its doors in 2007 and has been called a “foodie’s dream.” The popular spot is known for its high-quality menu and eclectic offerings, from its truffle fries to its delectable steak frites to its vegetarian-friendly mushroom lasagna.

But sadly, like many similar restaurants in the same boat, The Green Well has announced plans to close its doors for good later this month.

The restaurant’s last day of business will be Saturday, August 16, which means fans still have an opportunity to sample their favorite dishes before having to say goodbye for good.

Part of the decision to close The Green Well boiled down to declining sales.

Money has been tight for a lot of people, and consumers have been cutting back on restaurant meals out of necessity. That prompted the owners of the Green Well to move forward with the closure and focus on some of the other restaurants it owns.

All types of restaurants are feeling the pain

If you’re someone who dined at the Green Well on a regular basis, news of the closure may be hitting hard.

But the reality is that closures like this could continue to pick up if living costs keep rising and consumers are increasingly forced to make tough choices.

Of course, restaurant closures don’t just impact the people who love to dine there. They can also put people out of a job.

Such is the case for the Green Well, where roughly 20 employees are now displaced.

The restaurant’s owners, who have other dining establishments in their portfolio, said they’ll try to find those employees work. But often, when local restaurants close down, it leaves people scrambling.

Local restaurant closures are also problematic in that they can impact property values.

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Granted, a single closure may not have such a drastic impact. But when too many local eateries shutter in short order, it makes a neighborhood less desirable.

As such, losing your favorite local restaurant isn’t just a matter of having to say goodbye to the juicy burger with the special sauce you enjoyed, or bidding farewell to the amazing chocolate cake you always ordered for dessert.

Restaurant closures are a problem for communities and the broad economy alike. And until economic conditions improve, we could be in for a lot more of them.