Grotto closes second location

Eight months after opening a second location of The Grotto, owner Mark Coleman is shuttering the restaurant to focus on the company’s original eatery.

On Sunday, Coleman closed the Fox Grape Plaza restaurant, 3250 E. Battlefield Road, Ste. 8, he said this morning.

Coleman pointed to a Dec. 28 Facebook post announcing the closure, which indicated operations were spread too thin between the two restaurants.

“Since we opened this location, sales have decreased considerably at both stores,” Coleman wrote on The Grotto’s Facebook page. “We thank you for the warm welcome to the neighborhood and appreciate the loyalty of our customers, but we have decided that our resources would be put to more efficient use by focusing solely on the existing Grotto location.”

Coleman had signed a five-year lease for the 3,300 square feet with Fox Grape Plaza LLC for undisclosed terms. This morning, he said he still maintains the lease but has no plans to use the space.

In February, Coleman told Springfield Business Journal his Fox Grape Plaza restaurant marked the end of a two-year search for an east-side location.

Coleman has operated his original Grotto restaurant since 2007. In February 2013, he relocated the West Coast-style grill to 301 E. Battlefield Road in Battlefield Plaza from Battlefield Market Place.