Over the last few years, a number of local Winking Lizard restaurants have closed in the area. Now, it has just been announced that the Westerville venue will also be permanently closing in late December. According to a lengthy statement, this was due to a rise in operating and labor costs. However, the statement also confirmed that the Reynoldsburg location would not be shutting down.

The statement was made on their Facebook page which read: ‘It is with great sadness that we announce the closure of our Westerville location, at the end of business on December 22nd. We first entered the Columbus market in 2003 at Crosswoods off of Route 23 and I-270. Fifteen years later our lease expired, and we were forced to look elsewhere. We were excited to enter the Polaris market,’ and ended by saying: ‘The decision has not been an easy one, and we want to express our sincere gratitude for the years of support and patronage our loyal guests and tourists have provided.’ The full statement can be seen below.

Overall, this will come as sad news for fans of the venue. It is also saddening for those associated with the tavern due to this being its 40th anniversary. Based on recent advancements, it doesn’t look good for the other venues in the long-run either.