By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — A vintage Rockford restaurant that reopened under new ownership amid the coronavirus pandemic is going out of business.

Rockford Rathskellar, 1132 Auburn St., served its last meals Tuesday night. It will be open for bar service only Friday and Saturday before it closes its doors for good at 9 p.m. Saturday.

“We knew it was an uphill battle opening a restaurant in the middle of a pandemic,” co-owner Jonathan Griffin wrote on Facebook. “In the end, we just couldn’t build enough momentum to sustain us.”

Griffin and Jon Reese purchased Der Rathskellar, the German restaurant’s original name, in spring 2020 and reopened it in fall. It is closing one year and 13 days after reopening.

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Griffin said on Facebook he was “sad but proud.”

“But, in the last year and because of it, we are stronger, more resilient and full of faith,” he wrote. “We hope that you have experienced as much joy from eating and drinking at our table as we have had serving you, many of whom we now call friends.”

Der Rathskeller opened in 1931 and closed in December 2019 before new ownership took over the following year.

This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on Twitter at @KevinMHaas.