Little Pub Ridgefield will have its last call Saturday, March 30.
The business opened on Route 7 in 2009.
“We’ve been blessed with 10 incredible years at Little Pub Ridgefield,” the restaurant wrote on its Facebook page. “We’ve had tons of laughs and our share of tears, we’ve hosted weddings and divorce parties, baby showers and post- funeral receptions, you name it, we probably hosted it and to say we’ve enjoyed being part of the Ridgefield community is the understatement of the century. We love the people of Ridgefield and the surrounding towns, and based on the recent outpouring of support, it appears the feeling was mutual.”
In that same post, Little Pub said it had planned “to continue down that road ... for another 10 years” but instead was opting to go with “plan B” — a reference to the restaurant’s ongoing rent negotiations.
First Selectman Rudy Marconi discussed the tenant-landlord dispute in a January speech in front of the Ridgefield League of Women Voters.
“[A closure is] being talked about because there’s a rent increase and the owners are not happy about it,” Marconi said. “I’ve heard the rumor and I haven’t heard anything confirming that ...
“They do a tremendous amount of business there. You never go by and the parking lot’s empty,” he added. “I would imagine if they weren’t making any money, you would see a change already.”
Landlord Joe Chelednik told The Press Thursday, Feb. 21, that the lease is up on the building located at 59 Ethan Allen Highway.
“We can’t get together on it,” he said.
Holding out optimism, the restaurant said that unless “there’s a St. Patrick’s Day miracle” it would have its “last call” on March 30.
“If that’s the case, we’re lucky because most restaurants don’t get the chance to say goodbye,” the restaurant posted. “We have that opportunity. And given the choice between going out with a whimper or a bang we’ll choose bang every time, so the celebration of Little Pub Ridgefield starts today. Please come see us and let’s make some magic one more time.”
Little Pub also has restaurants in Wilton, Greenwich, Fairfield and Old Saybrook.