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The Clarmont Closes

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Started 4 months ago by News
Latest reply from Walker

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News
Columbus Underground
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The Clarmont Closes Doors After 65 Years
Monday January 23, 2012 12:37 PM
UPDATED: Monday January 23, 2012 12:38 PM

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Longtime restaurant The Clarmont closed its doors for good on Monday, according to its owners. The Clarmont, located at 684 S. High St., was founded in 1947 by Frank Kondos, who was the first restaurateur to open a fine-dining restaurant on the south side, according to the restaurant's Web site.

READ MORE: http://www.10tv.com/content/stories/2012/01/23/columbus-clarmont-restaurant-closes-doors-after-65-years.html

Posted 4 months ago #
captain janks
south side 4 life
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thats sad. used to go with my parents all the time. last time i was there, seemed like they fell off though. not sure if it was just a bad day or if they really had gone downhill.

Posted 4 months ago #
cbus11

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I went to Thom's in Grandview once only to find an eviction notice pasted by the landlord on the door. I am hoping someone buys the Clarmount. The roundbar has some good memories for me.

Posted 4 months ago #
dru
IV
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it went from this idea a few years ago...

to closing.

Posted 4 months ago #
Walker
The KLD / Downtown
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captain janks said:
thats sad. used to go with my parents all the time. last time i was there, seemed like they fell off though. not sure if it was just a bad day or if they really had gone downhill.

I've been a couple of times in the past and always had quality food. I don't think they've gone downhill in terms of quality, but maybe their image has struggled. I don't think it was a "top of the mind" restaurant for a lot of people my age, even when it came to special occasions.

Similar to The Top Steakhouse, I think the charm of The Clarmont was that it was quaintly outdated and offered people the chance to step back in time to another world. But that's a double-edged sword because many of its competing restaurants have updated to reflect the times and bring in a younger crowd.

Either way, The Clarmont will be missed.

Posted 4 months ago #
Twixlen
Westgate, Columbus
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Huge. Sigh.

Posted 4 months ago #
captain janks
south side 4 life
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Walker said:
I've been a couple of times in the past and always had quality food. I don't think they've gone downhill in terms of quality, but maybe their image has struggled. I don't think it was a "top of the mind" restaurant for a lot of people my age, even when it came to special occasions.

Similar to The Top Steakhouse, I think the charm of The Clarmont was that it was quaintly outdated and offered people the chance to step back in time to another world. But that's a double-edged sword because many of its competing restaurants have updated to reflect the times and bring in a younger crowd.

Either way, The Clarmont will be missed.

yeah every time we went, it was excellent, except for that last time. i just chalked it up to them having an off day...

and yeah, it def. had an older crowd. i remember my dad telling me that back in the day, happy hour at the bar was the place to seen and be seen for columbus movers and shakers.

still sucks... add clarmont to the list... right there by jai lai and kahiki.

Posted 4 months ago #
gramarye
In Exile
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Bummer. I never got to eat here (though of course, that might be part of the problem). It was one of my "on my list" restaurants for years.

Posted 4 months ago #
myliftkk
Columbus, OH
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That would have been a perfect "restaurant impossible" show.

Posted 4 months ago #
mrsgeedeck
Castle of Lions
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I remember going to the Clarmont with my parents for my twenty fifth birthday. My mom surprised me with a pair of diamond earrings and the piano player played Moon River.

Sad to see them go.

Posted 4 months ago #
Twixlen
Westgate, Columbus
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I think that remodelling the way they did hurt them. While the bar kept all it's awesome vintage charm, the rest of the interior dining space looked like a cheap hotel restaurant... not the vibe you want when you're dropping $30 on a steak. If it looked like The Top - and they did something to sell that Mad Men vibe? .... then again, who knows...

I'd had some good food there and some eh food there... it was too expensive to ever be eh.

I've sat at the bar for happy hour a few times, and it would usually be full, no matter what night of the week. It was always the same crew of people, who'd clearly been going there for decades.

Posted 4 months ago #
Oak
Schumacher Place/German Village area
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I have to agree with Twixlen - it was too expensive to be "eh". The last time I was there was Valentines of 2011 with my now-ex. We ordered the fruit, cracker and cheese plate for $20 as a starter. It looked like cheese from Giant Eagle cut into cubes, Ritz and Townhouse crackers with fruit. The fruit was the best part. The onion rings were the best deal - a huge plate!
Honestly I hadn't been impressed with it for a while and haven't been back. My roomie and his boyfriend always seemed to have good experiences there tho - so maybe it was just me. It's easy to say that a new menu and some redecorating might has saved it; seems that's the way it works on Restaurant Impossible. But I've seen the epilogues from Restaurant Impossible; even with all of their work, the place sometimes fails regardless of the changes and work.
I've also been to The Top - better atmosphere, but same too expensive to be eh food.

Posted 4 months ago #
Andrew Hall
Dennison Place (The Circles)
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I don't think the quality has necessarily lowered in places like the Clarmont. It is that the overall quality around them has risen. In the case of the Clarmont not only could one get better steaks elsewhere, but one could easily get better steaks at retail.

A.

Posted 4 months ago #
jpizzow
580 N. Park St.
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dru said:
it went from this idea a few years ago...

to closing.

I'm actually glad that DIDN'T happen. That is one ugly building.

Posted 4 months ago #
dru
IV
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jpizzow said:
I'm actually glad that DIDN'T happen. That is one ugly building.

i certainly wasn't arguing for that particular building. just noting that just a few years ago grand expansion schemes were in place, and now it is closing.

Posted 4 months ago #
christylwilliams
Olde Towne East
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This makes me so sad. I just went there for dinner on New Year's Eve. Even though I agree on so many points (the bad hotel decor, food not always the best quality), it has a nostalgia factor that you just can't replicate, or replace.

+1 for the Round Bar. I was really upset when it closed. It was by far my favorite bar that has ever existed.

Posted 4 months ago #
baguette
59 Spruce St., Columbus, Ohio
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They had a very good tomato soup at lunch, not 'tomato-basil bisque' like every other restaurant serves as their 'special', but just good old tomato soup. One of the best club sandwiches in town, and the bibb salad was excellent. I'll miss it for lunch.

Posted 4 months ago #
FSonicSmith
Columbus-downtown for work, East for the residence
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An awful lot of lawyers and judges are not going to know what to do with themselves between 7:00 and 9:00 am now. They will have to find a new place to have their power breakfasts.

Posted 4 months ago #
beersie1
Weinland Park
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So strange. After almost 7 years (including 2 where I lived practically across the street) in Columbus I decided to take my stepdad there for his birthday dinner on Saturday. Had always been curious. Our meals and the atmosphere- complete with piano man- were great. Crazy! I must be cursed. Glad I got to check it out before it closed.

Posted 4 months ago #
StateofDevotion
Columbus
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That stinks but almost seemed inevitable. I ate there a couple of times and enjoyed the experience and atmosphere. Family friends in my hometown would make the 90 minute drive to Columbus just to eat there back in the day. That was the same era, probably mid-80s when we would pile in grandma's station wagon for a day trip to shop at Northland Mall. hah

Posted 4 months ago #