Indiana is losing a well-known Evansville restaurant this month.

Copper House, a west side restaurant on Franklin Street, is set to close June 28, 2026, after about five years in business. The closure comes after other Indiana dining losses, including a modern Indianapolis favorite that recently prepared to close forever.

Copper House may not have been a century-old institution, but it became meaningful to the people who used it as a gathering place.

The restaurant at 1430 W. Franklin Street is housed in the historic Franklin Street Boarding House and Saloon building, which dates back to the 1800s. Owner Tabatha Perkins, a graduate of Louisville’s Sullivan University culinary school, took over the space after a notable run as head chef at Tin Man Brewing Co. for 3.5 years — the previous tenant of the same building, which closed in 2017. She had previously worked at Farm 57, The Slice, Bokeh Lounge, Planters’ Café, and Roppongi Japanese Steak and Sushi before opening Copper House.

The restaurant served lunch, brunch and dinner from a kitchen built into the historic building’s former brewing area, with patrons getting an up-close view from what Perkins called the “Garden Room.” The second floor served as event space for private gatherings.

In its farewell message, the restaurant thanked the community for being part of its story — for the meals, milestones, celebrations and gatherings of friends.

The closure announcement also coincided with the building going up for sale, including the restaurant space, the second-floor event space and the building’s furniture and equipment. No information has been released about what may replace the restaurant or who may buy the property.

That kind of language matters because restaurants become beloved in different ways. Some become beloved because they last for generations. Others become beloved because they arrive at the right time, in the right neighborhood, and give people a place to make memories.

Copper House fit that second category.

Located on Evansville’s Franklin Street, the restaurant became part of a local corridor already known for neighborhood dining, bars and community life. For regulars, it was a place that worked for casual meals, weekend brunches, dinners out and small celebrations.

Restaurant closings can happen for many reasons: rent, staffing, food costs, traffic changes, owner burnout or simply the reality that the numbers no longer work. Whatever the specific reason, customers usually feel the same thing first: one more familiar place is gone.

For Evansville diners, Copper House’s final day will mark the end of another local restaurant chapter. Indiana will keep getting new restaurants. Evansville will keep changing. Franklin Street will still have places to eat and drink.

But Copper House’s closing removes a restaurant that had become part of local routine. For the customers who used it for brunch, dinner, drinks or celebrations, June 28 will feel like more than the end of service. It will feel like the end of a place where their own stories happened.

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