After nearly 20 years in business, the Zodiac Bar & Grill at 118 W. Adams St. Downtown is closed.
Owner Jerry Ewais posted on the restaurant’s Facebook page Jan. 6 that losing Zodiac’s popular lunch buffet to COVID-19 safety restrictions and so many regular customers working remotely, also because of the pandemic, he had no choice but to lock the doors for the last time.
“We survived the 2008 crisis, but not 2020,” Ewais said in the post.
He opened a 60-seat sandwich shop in February 2020 at 128 W. Adams St., a block west of the current Zodiac. Ewais served breakfast and lunch and introduced the buffet stocked with Mediterranean and Middle Eastern specialties.
The sandwich shop became so popular that a few years later, Ewais moved into a larger space at the corner of Adams and Hogan streets.
In 2010, Zodiac moved to 118 W. Adams in the Schultz Building. With 150 seats, Ewais was able to acquire a full liquor license and open the bar and cocktail lounge.
“Our lunch buffet was a big hit. Dinner could have been better but with Happy Hour and a little dinner we were paying the bills and getting ready for next-day lunch,” Ewais wrote.
“We tried hard to keep the doors open but couldn’t anymore. We want to thank Zodiac customers for their 20 years of support.”
