Chili Time Restaurant in St. Bernard abruptly closes after 59 years

Cincinnati Enquirer

Chili Time Restaurant in St. Bernard closes after 59 years in the food service industry. The restaurant was founded in 1963 by brothers Harry and Pete Vidas, who worked for Empress Chili downtown before concocting their own recipe.

Chili Time Restaurant in St. Bernard abruptly shut its doors Tuesday after 59 years in the food service industry.

This shocked employees and customers, who were only notified of the closure through a sign left at the restaurant's entrance.

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The sign reads: “Due to circumstances beyond our control, we will be closed until further notice. We are sorry for the inconvenience. Thank you for your patronage.”

Pictured is the sign left at the Chili Time Restaurant entrance, informing employees and customers of the abrupt closure.

Owners Christos and Kimberly Vidas did not inform employees or customers of the closure before this announcement, Fox 19 reported. The restaurant’s Facebook page was also deleted without prior notice.

The owners did not immediately responded to The Enquirer's request for comment.

Chili Time was founded by brothers Harry and Pete Vidas in 1963, who worked at Empress Chili before concocting their recipe, which the family still owns.