Future in question for West Toledo's Social Gastropub

5/15/2018
BY JAY SKEBBA
BLADE STAFF WRITER
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  • The future of Social Gastropub's West Toledo location, owned by former University of Toledo and NFL quarterback Bruce Gradkowski, appears uncertain.

    The lights were off Tuesday at the Secor Road eatery and nobody appeared to be inside. Outdoor patio furniture was still in place, but a handwritten sign on the front door said Social is “closed for renovations.”

    Bartender Anthony Colosimo confirmed to The Blade the upscale restaurant on UT's campus closed its doors over the weekend. He said the Perrysburg location will remain open.

    Mr. Gradkowski did not respond to a request for comment. Phone calls to the Secor Road location were not answered, and a worker at the Perrysburg restaurant declined to comment.

    Mike Farrar, adviser to Mr. Gradkowski, said the QB is “working on an announcement,” but declined further comment.

    Mr. Colosimo said he was informed in early May that the gastropub would close, but not until the end of the month. He indicated multiple employees were not told the restaurant was closing, and Mr. Colosimo was asked to keep the information to himself.

    "Instead of closing May 30, I got a text Saturday from the GM saying we're closed Monday officially," Mr. Colosimo said. "I was under the impression I had two weeks of work left. I asked the GM if anyone else knew, and she responded with, 'I don't know.' I'm like, 'What do you mean you don't know? You're the only person who would know.’"

    The retired football player opened Gradkowski's in the same building in 2011. He temporarily closed it in July, 2016, and re-branded it as the second Social location.

    Mr. Colosimo said the establishment was busy when he started working there seven months ago, but business dwindled over time. He said the doors often closed early at night if there were no customers.

    "We changed the menu right about the time I started working there and they took a bunch of the nicer menu items off," Mr. Colosimo said. "I think they were trying to angle it more for the college crowd, but we did not get a lot of college students. I think it was out of the price range of the typical college kid budget."

    The Perrysburg location opened in 2013 near Levis Commons.

    Contact Jay Skebba at jskebba@theblade.com, 419-376-9414, or on Twitter @JaySkebba.