Urban Roadhouse in Mentor closes

Craft Street Burger Company to replace eatery

Less than two years after opening, Urban Roadhouse in Mentor is closed.

Willoughby resident Terri Vidrick and her husband were fans of the restaurant, at 8807 Mentor Ave., and recently noticed that the sign along the street was covered with a temporary one indicating that Craft Street Burger Company will be replacing it.

“We really liked it there and were shocked (and) disappointed to see that it had closed,” she said.

The eatery opened in late spring 2016, shortly after the operator closed his Brown Derby location at 9500 Diamond Centre Drive. That site is now home to Noosa Bistro.

There was no notice of the closure listed on the building, and the Facebook page is no more. Yelp.com lists it as closed.

Mentor Economic & Community Development Director Ronald M. Traub said he observed that there were no vehicles in the parking lot for a couple of days and the old street sign covered up. He said a call to the property owner hadn’t been returned as of Oct. 12.

The building — in Mentor’s Old Village section — has been home to multiple restaurants, including Pizzeria Uno, Wing House and Cruisin’ 50’s Diner.

Traub doesn’t think the location is behind the turnover.

“The restaurant is wellsituated in the community,” he said. “Pizzeria Uno pulled out of the market. The diner closed, as I was told, because of a rent situation.”

The diner lasted four years, closing in February 2014. A Facebook message from the Foradis family, the operators, indicated that it was “challenging to manage the expenses that come with the diner’s property.”

“We really liked it there and were shocked (and) disappointed to see that it had closed.” — Willoughby resident Terri Vidrick

BETSY SCOTT — THE NEWS-HERALD Passersby recently noticed a new restaurant coming to the Urban Roadhouse site on Mentor Avenue in Mentor.