Indy eateries Rook, Black Market will permanently close next weekend
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Two Indianapolis eateries are permanently closing next weekend due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Rook and Black Market are set to close at the end of next weekend, according to co-owner Ed Rudisell.
“We’ve done everything we can to survive this pandemic, but it’s not enough,” Rudisell said in a statement posted to the restaurant Facebook pages on Friday.
Black Market, a modern Mexican restaurant located at 922 Massachusetts Ave., opened in 2011. Rook, which serves contemporary Asian cuisine, originally opened its doors in the Hinge Building in 2013, but later moved to 501 Virginia Ave.
Rudisell said a combination of low sales, PPP loans and suffocating debt sealed the restaurants’ fate.
“The PPP loans weren’t a good fit to save the hospitality industry and that money has already been spent on payroll costs. Debt is suffocating us. Insurance companies refuse to pay out for the stoppage of our businesses. Washington has abandoned us. Sales are slow. And the virus is gaining strength again,” Rudisell said online. “We made it through some tough times. But there is no end in sight for this pandemic. This one knocked us out.”
A slew of local restaurants have closed permanently due to the ongoing public health crisis. Restaurants and bars were forced to close their doors to in-person dining throughout Indiana in March. In-person dining was reopened to 50% capacity on May 4 for all Indiana counties except for Cass, Lake and Marion counties.
Indianapolis closed portions of five streets to allow restaurants to reopen with outdoor dining only on May 22. Patrons weren’t allowed to eat indoors (at 50% capacity) at restaurants until June 1.