After a decade of nonstop culinary buzz, Chicago’s once-thriving restaurant scene is hitting a wall. In just the past month, a surprising wave of closures — from Michelin-recognized hotspots to beloved neighborhood taverns — has left diners and insiders asking the same uneasy question: Is the city’s restaurant boom finally over? Across the city, restaurants large and small have gone dark. Parson’s Chicken & Fish [...]
Ohio losing grocery stores fast – report warns 80% of counties now food deserts
Ohio isn’t doing so well on the grocery store front — and experts warn it’s leaving millions of residents without easy access to food. In just the past few months, several long-running supermarkets have announced sudden closures. Among them: These shutdowns come as food access disappears across large portions of the state.A new 2025 report from the Ohio Association of Community Action Agencies (OACAA) found that more [...]
4 uniquely Portland restaurants abruptly shut down as “urban doom loop” continues
Four beloved Portland restaurants have suddenly shuttered their doors, adding to mounting fears that the city’s once-vibrant food scene is sliding into an urban “doom loop” of closures, vacancies, and economic strain. This mirrors economic issues in the city writ large such as an unemployment rate that’s moved up to 5.4% and issues with housing affordability. Over just the past several weeks, four distinctly Portland [...]
Major pizza chain shuts down 500 restaurants in major decline
The take-and-bake pizza brand Papa Murphy’s has quietly shuttered hundreds of locations in recent years — part of a sweeping contraction under its parent company MTY Food Group — signaling serious challenges for the four-decade-old chain. A factory-style drop in store count A recent report confirmed that Papa Murphy’s has closed roughly one-third of its units since the end of 2016. According to franchise disclosure [...]
Sober October goes viral across the USA — and It’s creating a new kind of happy hour
Across the U.S., millions are putting down their drinks for Sober October — a 31-day challenge that’s quickly becoming one of the biggest wellness trends of the year. But this year, it’s not just about giving up alcohol. It’s about replacing it — and the alternatives are booming. From “sleepy girl” mocktails to magnesium seltzers and adaptogenic tonics, a whole new category of beverages is suddenly taking center [...]
Utah’s “oldest continually operating restaurant” could be coming back
A piece of Utah history that seemed lost forever may soon make a comeback. The Idle Isle Café, located in downtown Brigham City, was long considered Utah’s oldest continually operating restaurant — a Main Street staple that had been serving locals and travelers since 1921. There were a few ownership changes over the years, but for more than a century, the cozy café dished up comfort classics – think country fried steak, [...]
