Dinner is Done closing, but catering to continue

[Robin Garr]

This announcement just in from Catrina by Email. Sad news, but good that she's continuing in the food biz.

Dinner Is Done to close, owner to focus on catering and packaged foods

January 20, 2010—Dinner Is Done, a southern foods restaurant in Middletown, will close its restaurant Jan 24. Owner-operator Catrina Hill will redirect her efforts on her growing catering operation and her packaged seasonings and breading line.

Hill ran Dinner Is Done in Jeffersontown for nearly nine years before moving it to Middletown in 2009. The decision to close her restaurant was heart-wrenching, she said.

"Growing Dinner Is Done has been a lot like raising a child," Hill said. "I helped it grow from a small operation to a much larger one, and along the way, we made a lot of friends. Not seeing my long-time customers every day is going to be very hard for me. They've been like family to me and my staff."

While her new location was a positive move and the property owner was great to work with the ongoing recession was a factor in the decision to close the restaurant, she added.

"It's been difficult during this time to maintain the pace of business we'd enjoyed for a long time," she said. "But at the end of the day, this is a business, and I had to make the decision that was best for my future. The catering side of the business is doing well, and there's a lot of potential for my packaged foods, so that's what I'll focus on going forward."

For more information on catering, bulk sales and Hill's seasonings and breadings, visit http://www.dinnerisdone.net

The entire plaza seems to be the death of many restaurants (and other businesses as well). I had heard in the past that the landlord was very difficult to work with but according to Catrina's email this doesn't appear to be the case here. We enjoyed eating at Dinner is Done occasionally and wish her well!

That is sad. I drive by there almost every day and rarely saw cars sitting in front of the restaurant.

This is disappointing for me as well. I've been a long time customer since the early days in that tiny shop in J-Town and was happy when they reopened in a better location. I didn't find its new location in Middletown until recently. It's just too far out of the way for me to grab lunch.

While I think the recession bears most of the responsibility for all of these restaurant closings, it seems to be that moving to a new location during a downturn is the proverbial kiss of death. Dinner is Done was a J-town fixture, and I suspect many J-town residents and Fern Creekers probably just didn't drive the extra distance to Shelbyville Road. The visibility of that strip mall isn't very conducive to attracting customers either.

I'm going to miss that catfish.