This Hornell eatery has abruptly closed its doors: What we know
A new Hornell restaurant and night spot has abruptly closed after just a few months in operation.
Balloons East Restaurant, which looked to fill the absence of the popular bar and grill Club 57 at the Seneca Road property, posted a message and new cover photo on Facebook Monday that read, “Sorry, we’re closed.”
The restaurant's page was re-titled “7465 Seneca Rd” and lists the business as “permanently closed.”
Balloons Restaurant and Nightclub was established in 1990 in the Cattaraugus County village of Ellicottville. The Hornell venture, which was announced in February, marked Balloons’ first satellite location and opened May 3.
The Kerns family, owners of the restaurant, described several important updates to the the building at the time, including new flooring and paint schemes, along with improved kitchen equipment.
“The building needed some love and attention,” Melanie Kerns told The Evening Tribune in April.
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Plans were for a menu featuring favorites at the Ellicottville restaurant, such as chicken wings, chicken and biscuits and beef on weck.
Phone and email messages to the Kerns family seeking comment about the business shutting down were not immediately returned Thursday.
Club 57 closed in late October 2022. At that time, the business employed 27 people in a combination of full-time and part-time jobs and was a busy place for food, drinks and entertainment in the Canisteo Valley.
Chuck Wochele, the long-time owner of the Seneca Road bar and grill, said the building and property had been sold.
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This article originally appeared on The Evening Tribune: Hornell restaurant abruptly closes shortly after opening: What we know
