Anthony Bourdain sampled regional and underestimated Ohio cuisine on No Reservations and visited eight spots across Cleveland and Columbus in 2005 and 2009. Only Cleveland's West Side Market remains open from those visits. Multiple featured restaurants closed for varied reasons, including financial pressures, underperformance, the pandemic, and retirement. The Cleveland Skyline Chili closed in December 2023; Clever Crow Pizza closed in 2012. Sokolowski's University Inn, a family-owned Polish restaurant, closed during the pandemic after 92 years. Lola closed in 2020 after sales plummeted. Longstanding businesses such as Sausage Shoppe, Kihachi, and Hot Sauce Williams also closed, marking a generational shift.
The late celebrity chef, author, and renowned adventure travel TV host Anthony Bourdain opinionatedly sampled a variety of regional cuisine from around the world on his show, "No Reservations." But he also tried the best food in underestimated locations, like Ohio. From quintessentially American food to shops owned by the Polish, German, and Japanese immigrants that shaped the Buckeye state's food scene, Bourdain visited eight spots across Cleveland and Columbus on the show back in 2005 and 2009, respectively.
The fallen restaurants have disappeared for a variety of reasons - from financial pressures to the pandemic. For instance, the Cleveland location of the Bourdain-approved Cincinnati staple, Skyline Chili, shut down in December 2023 due to underperformance. The pan pizza joint, Clever Crow Pizza, closed in 2012 after only two years open. Classics crumbled during the pandemic, including Sokolowki's University Inn, a family-owned, James Beard award-winning Polish restaurant serving up pierogi, sausage, and kraut in Tremont for 92 years.
Then there are Bourdain-featured spots whose doors closed due to retirement, signaling a transfer of the culinary scene to a new generation. 80-year-old German butcher shop, Sausage Shoppe, and long-standing sushi restaurant Kihachi, closed at the end of 2018. So did Hot Sauce Williams, who closed shop after 40 years of serving up Southern staples, as well as Ohio classics like the Polish Boy, a kielbasa sandwich.
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