SOUTH BEND — A spot that’s long been associated with live entertainment in downtown South Bend could be in jeopardy with the closing of Cool Runnings Restaurant and Bar at 129 N. Michigan St. about a month ago.
Jayson Smith, who operated the venue since it opened in August 2022, said he ultimately closed because of “trouble finding dependable help.”
Smith had previously mentioned that finding and retaining help was more difficult than expected, shortly after opening the venue in South Bend. The location included an eclectic mix of live music in addition to a Jamaican-inspired menu.
Jermaine Miller, who started and owns the Cool Runnings restaurant in Michigan City and partnered with Smith on the South Bend location, did not return a call seeking comment. However, that location at 501 Center St., remains open.
The closing of the venue creates a hole in downtown South Bend’s dining and entertainment scene, but Jeff Harrison, owner of the building, said he already has had some talks with people interested in buying or leasing the estimated 6,000-square-foot space.
“It’s pretty close to turnkey,” said Harrison, who ran Vegetable Buddies at the location from 2016 through 2022. “We were ultimately killed by the pandemic. After we got through the first strain, we started coming back.
“But then we were hit by another variant,” Harrison said, adding that he might even consider reopening Vegetable Buddies if he had a partner. “I’d like to see a live music venue, but it’s a tough business.”
The original Vegetable Buddies occupied the spot from 1976 to 1980 during its brief but locally legendary run as a cultural hotspot that brought some of the best musicians from the worlds of blues, bluegrass, country, jazz and rock to South Bend.
A law firm eventually took over the building, before Herb Wilson Jr. converted the spot into Trio’s Restaurant & Jazz Club from 2007 to 2014 before declaring bankruptcy. At the time, the owners’ attorney cited “the poor economy” as the reason for its closure.
Since the closing of that venue, however, downtown South Bend has become significantly more vibrant — attracting restaurants, residents, bars and other entertainment venues over the past few years, especially with the availability of affordable riverfront liquor licenses.
Some would-be restaurateurs have even cited the lack of available restaurant space as reasons for locating outside downtown in recent years.
“It can be difficult finding space for restaurants in the downtown area, especially with built-out kitchens,” said Willow Wetherall, executive director of Downtown South Bend Inc. “You never want to see a business close, but I don’t think it’s going to sit vacant too long.”
Wethereall said it would be ideal if the space is eventually occupied by a business that also brings entertainment, but she’s sure it will at least draw the interest of restaurateurs. “It has a lot of great assets to it and there’s quite a bit of interest in food-based businesses.”
Email Tribune staff writer Ed Semmler at [email protected].
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.southbendtribune.com ’
