Business

This Columbus restaurant is closed, but something new is already in the works, landlord says

A downtown Columbus Italian restaurant is no more.

Building owner Ernie Smallman confirmed Tuesday that Mr. Ed’s on Broadway, 1207 Broadway, is closed. The former restaurant’s owners announced they were selling Mr. Ed’s in a Feb. 15 Facebook post. Attempts to contact them before publication were unsuccessful.

“Dear FBook Friends & Family after careful consideration and a lot of deliberation we have decided to (sell) Mr. Ed’s on Broadway. We appreciate all of ur love and support and hope to see you in the near future,” a portion of the post reads. “I wanna take a minute to say thank you to ‘ALL’ of our regulars and new friends. All of you made every day special!”

The restaurant was next door to a boutique Hampton Inn hotel that is currently under construction. Representatives for Valley Hospitality, a Pezold Company, told the Ledger-Enquirer in May 2019 that the company was working to stabilize the building that housed Mr. Ed’s.

Smallman said he is finalizing an agreement with a new, unnamed tenant to occupy the downtown building.

“These folks popped up at the right time for (Mr. Ed’s) and, I think, for everybody,” Smallman said.

This story was originally published February 18, 2020 at 3:28 PM.

Nick Wooten
Columbus Ledger-Enquirer
Nick Wooten is the Accountability/Investigative reporter for the Ledger-Enquirer where he is responsible for covering several topics, including Georgia politics. His work may also appear in the Macon Telegraph. Nick was given the Georgia Press Association’s 2021 Emerging Journalist award for his coverage of elections, COVID-19 and Columbus’ LGBTQ+ community. Before joining McClatchy, he worked for The (Shreveport La.) Times covering city government and investigations. He is a graduate of Mercer University in Macon, Georgia.
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