LAKEWOOD, Ohio — Melt Bar and Grilled owner Matt Fish announced on Instagram that he has "made the difficult decision to permanently close Melt Bar and Grilled."
"This decision was not made lightly or without years of incredible effort and stress," Fish said in a New Year's Day post. "The process to save Melt Bar and Grilled starting in 2020."
He continued, "The world and restaurant/service industry changed drastically during the pandemic. Hundreds of difficult decisions and countless efforts were made to put the company in a position to survive and thrive.
"Unfortunately, these determined efforts were not enough to save the company."
This follows years of the chain's restaurants closing across Ohio.
Melt Bar and Grilled filed for bankruptcy in June 2024, hoping to slash its debt.
Fish reorganized the company, eliminating expenses and reducing staff to give Melt "a fighting chance."
RELATED: Melt Bar and Grilled files Chapter 11
The last remaining location—the original one in Lakewood—temporarily closed to undergo renovations and rework its menu.
RELATED: Melt reopens in Lakewood with new menu, new hopes
"The financial burden of bankruptcy, combined with the lack of robust sales have proved to be completely devastating," Fish wrote.
Fish started the company nearly twenty years ago, and the restaurant grew from humble beginnings into a very successful business.
Even though things eventually took a turn for the worse, Fish said he has no regrets.
"I accomplished everything I wanted to accomplish and much more with Melt Bar and Grilled," he wrote in the post.
You can read the full post on Melt's Instagram page here.
At its peak, Melt had more than a dozen locations across Ohio.
David Mcelhattan, a resident of Lakewood, told News 5 that he remembers when the restaurant opened years ago— mentioning it was always busy.
“It's one of the places that we would suggest to go, if we want to eat," said Mcelhattan. "They would say, 'Let's go to Melt.'”
Mcelhattan called Melt Bar a Lakewood staple.
"Melt was extremely popular. We would reserve a spot, then we would go to our friend's house down the street, wait one hour, and it was packed the entire time," said Mcelhattan. "We went to Independence [and] they were packed, and I'm pretty sure the other ones were packed too. When you're that big, your bar is so high."
