Winter, surging pandemic and no aid plans prompt indies to announce their last service

This is the latest in an occasional series looking at independent restaurants closing their doors permanently due to the pandemic.

Winter is looming and, in most parts of the country, the pandemic is surging.

Some cities and states are already returning to dining room lockdowns that were so widespread early in the coronavirus crisis. (Though some independent operators are ignoring those mandates.) Last month, President Trump called off negotiations on a federal relief package that would have aided the restaurant industry.

With those mounting pressures and no lifeline in sight, the list of shuttered independent restaurants continues to grow.

Here are some of the latest independent restaurants to make the difficult call to close their doors for good.

Band of Bohemia, the only Michelin-starred gastropub in the country, said last month it would close for good. The restaurant, which opened in 2015, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy just days before announcing its closure. The gastropub was founded by two former employees of Chicago’s famed Alinea restaurant.

The owners blamed the closure on the coronavirus. “It has been a great five years of serving Chicago and the world, but it is now time to focus on our health and our families,” the owners told the Chicago Tribune.

Award-winning restaurateur Andy Ricker announced late last month he would shut down all six of his Pok Pok restaurants in Portland, Ore., because of the pandemic.

"I swore when Pok Pok opened that if it ever reached the point where it was all about profit and loss, I would shut it down and walk away,” Ricker posted on Instagram. "So when Covid made it all about the bottom line that was my cue to pull the plug."

Celebrity chef Chris Cosentino said last month that he would shutter his San Francisco restaurant Cockscomb, after six years in business.

The restaurant, which focused on whole-animal cookery, had been slated to reopen for indoor service.

"I've been sitting here trying to say this over and over again, eloquently — but ultimately, it just sucks," Cosentino said on Instagram. "We are closing Cockscomb permanently."

After 60 years operating near Charlottle, N.C., Jimmie’s Restaurant closed permanently last month. The family-owned restaurant, which served classic comfort food, told local media that the owners were ready to retire.

Some Jimmie’s customers ate two meals a day at the restaurant and came in five days a week, the owners said.

Known for popularizing Venezuelan food in New York City, Caracas Arepa Bar announced its upcoming closure this month, after 17 years in the East Village.

“I feel nostalgic and sad but satisfied,” the owner posted on Instagram. “How many people now know arepas because of this little hole on (sic) the wall.”

Cafe Poca Cosa, which served Mexican food in Tucson, Ariz., for more than 35 years, made the tough decision last month to shut its doors for good.

“Clearly, this is not how I imagined my business would culminate,” the owner posted on Facebook. “I always envisioned passing the business on to my hard-working children who have been actively involved in the business for many years. The continued threat of COVID to the restaurant and hospitality industry is ever-present. With fixed costs of doing business and rising food costs, along with restrictive seating limits, we just do not see a profitable way of continuing.