The most shocking restaurant closings of 2017

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Indianapolis lost a lot of great places to eat in 2016. Nothing lasts forever, but we can’t help but wish these places had stuck around a little bit longer. Wochit

When a restaurant’s parking lot sits empty for months, it doesn’t take a business analyst to figure out the end is near. What’s shocking are the good-byes from respected chefs, beloved classics and promising fledglings.

Indy lost a big share of those restaurants in 2017, leaving some to wonder if the metro area’s dining scene was flattening out. These are the ones that made our jaws drop.

►A closer look: Here's why Indianapolis restaurants are closing

►Full list: These are all the recent Indianapolis restaurant closings

►Pending: Mass Ave.'s Old Point Tavern is scheduled to close in 2018

Recess

Chef Greg Hardesty carried the torch of fine dining in Indianapolis for six years, serving an impressive prix-fixe menu, spot-on wine pairings and one of the area’s best raw bars. But Recess wasn’t Hardesty’s first restaurant. Although the 6-year-old SoBro restaurant had earned national attention and Hardesty James Beard award nods, its chef was tired after years of shaking pans and adapting to industry changes.

“I’m not going to open any more restaurants,” he said in the weeks before the Feb. 18 final day of service. “I’m done with that.”

Hardesty became a consulting chef and sales rep for southern Indiana’s Fischer Farms, where cattle roam grassy fields and are raised free of antibiotics and growth hormones. He still cooks for private events now and then, too. 4907 N. College Ave., soon to be Ukiyo farm-to-table Asian restaurant.

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Greg Hardesty, a pioneer in the Indianapolis restaurant scene, has decided to close his acclaimed restaurant, Recess, on Feb. 18. What's in store now for the chef? (Dwight Adams/IndyStar) Dwight Adams/IndyStar

Pizzology on Mass Ave.

America is so sick for pizza that pizzerias are often called “recession-proof.” They seem to survive anything, except maybe too much competition. Pizzology’s opening on Mass Ave. in 2014 stirred much excitement. Its creative, farm-to-table pies baked in a wood-fired oven were all the buzz.

Cooks spun the final pizza Feb. 19, as Kentucky-based Goodfellas pizzeria prepared to put its New York-style pizza and 300-plus bourbons a block away. Bazbeaux is also on the avenue. Pizzology became wine-centric Euro spot Stella about a month after closing. 608 Massachusetts Ave.

►Story: Pizzology on Mass Ave. is closing

LongBranch and 22nd Street Diner

Two different chef-driven upstarts, same Fall Creek Place address, same story: Out of business within months of opening. Despite positive reviews, Asian fusion LongBranch never took off. Its delayed launch and a 21-and-older age limit squeezed finances, owners theorized. After just six months in business, doors closed May 23.

"We literally just ran out of money,” general manager Scott Lowe said. Some people wondered if too many unusual dishes like General Tso sweetbreads were partially to blame. A month later, hip, comfort food restaurant 22nd Street Diner moved in and then closed four months later on Nov. 15. Owners said expensive local ingredients and lack of business contributed to the demise. Mixed reviews of the food couldn’t have helped either. 2205 N. Delaware St. 

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Competition, demand for delivery, changing technology and pressure to provide mind-blowing, yet comfortable experiences all contribute to restaurants failing in Indianapolis. Reporting by Liz Biro / IndyStar Amy Haneline / IndyStar

The Elbow Room

New construction, businesses and residents have drastically changed Downtown in the past seven years. "Out with the old and in with the new" was especially painful when this historic bar with Prohibition-era roots expired May 27. Owner Rick Lux told IndyStar media partner Fox59 that “it was time to upgrade the restaurant or sell, and we have ultimately decided it was time to re-imagine the future of this location as the cultural landscape of Downtown Indianapolis continues to evolve.” 605 N. Pennsylvania St.

The Owner’s Wife

Owners Ted Miller and Shannon Stone seemed to have done everything right. They tapped chef Jonathan Brooks of Indy's nationally famous Milktooth to craft a menu based on Miller and Stone’s global travels. They laid on interesting décor and brewed nice beers, but eclectic food offerings such as jerk frog legs served atop steamed rice never took off at the gastropub-style restaurant. That plus intense competition along nearby Mass Ave. and a long-delayed opening exterminated the The Owner’s Wife on June 3, along with its neighbor and sibling Outliers Brewing Co. "The people just didn’t come," Miller said. 608 N. Park Ave.

Marrow

Fans still scratch their heads over the closing of this chef-driven, global soul food restaurant in Fountain Square. Despite local and national accolades, including a mention in a Conde Nast Traveler 2016 story that described Indy as underrated, Marrow fell June 11, after 19 months in business. "Indianapolis doesn’t host enough people who want creative food," chef/partner John Adams said. 1106 Prospect St., soon to become Turchetti’s Salumeria butcher and charcuterie shop.

►Story: Fountain Square's Marrow is another Indy restaurant closing

Boogie Burger

News of no more famous garlic fries arrived in a tweet storm from Boogie Burger’s Twitter account. "It is time for us to move on to other projects/interests and the kitchen is now closed,” owners of the popular 10-year-old burger joint said. Boogie Burger closed Sept. 11. 1904 Broad Ripple Ave.

Castleton Grill

Downtown isn’t the only place experiencing growth and changes. This northeast-side eatery closed Feb. 15 after 23 years in business. “Our team’s primary intention was always ‘to restore and elevate the goodness of our guests through personal connection,’" owners wrote on the Facebook post announcing the closing. Fast-food Asian spot Panda Express replaced the restaurant. 6010 E. 82nd St. 

Bourbon Street Distillery

After 15 years in business Downtown, the friendly old-timer served its last delectable breaded tenderloin sandwich Jan. 6. Declining sales and an owner ready for retirement were the reasons why. Asian themed restaurant and cigar bar Stixx has since taken over. 361 Indiana Ave.

BARcelona Tapas

Yet another old-timer faded when this Spanish tapas restaurant shuttered without warning Labor Day weekend. BARcelona tapas was a pioneer of Downtown Indy’s early culinary renaissance when it opened in 2007, about three years before the Indianapolis’ dining scene started to explode. By time doors closed Sept. 3, BARcelona Tapas was surrounded by restaurants serving tapas-style small plates. The restaurant had also received mixed reviews over the previous year. 201 N. Delaware St.

Casler’s

The popular Fishers family-friendly restaurant ended its run on Oct. 31. Castleton's Ale Emporium, famous in Indianapolis for its Hermanaki chicken wings, will open there by early 2018. The Fonseca family that owned and operated Casler’s decided to sell the business because of the many hours of work it required, said Rico Fonseca, Casler's marketing guy. His father, Rick Fonseca, who bought the restaurant in 2009, wanted to spend more time with his grandchildren. 11501 Geist Pavilion Drive

►Story: Ale Emporium bringing its 'best chicken wings' to Fishers and beyond

Cerulean

News in early December that this chef-driven, fine-dining gem would cease operations Jan. 1 capped a year of chef-driven restaurant closures including Recess, Marrow and LongBranch. When Cunningham Restaurant Group announced plans to put its 17th Indy-area restaurant, an Italian concept, in the Cerulean space, people wondered if they were witnessing the homogenization of Indy’s dining scene, especially with Cunningham also gunning for historic Old Point Tavern on Mass Ave., scheduled to close in early 2018. 339 S. Delaware St.

Sneak peek: An Italian restaurant will take over Cerulean at The Alexander hotel

B. Po Boy

Food quality has never been an issue here. Mondo onion rings, po' boy sandwiches and chocolate-sauced beignets are solid. The problem is that the Fountain Square restaurant, loved as much for its huge patio as its New Orleans-themed menu, can't attract enough business when the weather turns cold. "The summers were always profitable, but the winters consistently erased those," wife-and-husband owners Deb and Ryan Borchelt said in a Nov. 30 Instagram post. 1261 Shelby St.

Follow IndyStar food writer Liz Biro on Twitter: @lizbiro, Instagram: @lizbiro, and on Facebook. Call her at (317) 444-6264.