Fairfield Casa's closing this month

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - Casa D'Angelo's on Fairfield Ave. will close its doors later this month, making it the second south side restaurant in the past week to announce its closure.

Monday, Casa Restaurants announced its Fairfield location was closing because of a steady decline in revenue since Lutheran Hospital relocated more than 10 years ago.

It opened its doors in 1982 after purchasing the former Gouloff's Paramount Grill.

Lambro's Steakhouse served its last dinner over the weekend. The owner blamed the economy for pushing him out of business.

That sentiment was shared by 6th district councilman Glynn Hines. "We are in a recession and we haven't bounced back yet," explained Hines. "I think this is just a reflection of people not taking their disposable income, going out to dinner as much as they used to. And you'll see that throughout not only the south side of the city, (but) the north side, the state, and this country."

Not every south side restaurant is hurting. At least that's what the Southtown Area Advisory Committee claims. It was created last year to attract new development to Southeast Fort Wayne. Leaders on the committee insists, there's plenty of growth; it all depends on the type of business you run.

"When you take a look at some of the major chains, those kinds of restaurants, they're actually striving," said committee co-chair Ted Williams. "I think that the South East side is just starting to come into its own."

Casa D'Angelo's will close Feb. 20th. The restaurant has offered all employees a transfer to any Casa location of their choice.