This week, five Walla Walla restaurants announced they were in various stages of closing their doors. We reported earlier that 26Brix had closed. This was followed by news stories in the Union-Bulletin that Luscious by Nature, Destination Grill, Pine Street Grill (formerly Elmers) and Caravaggio (at the airport) were closing.

For those who thought that for some reason Walla Walla might be spared, this is the hard reality of the nationwide slowdown. While the underlying fundamentals differed for each business, December’s winter weather and the snapping shut of disposable dollars hastened the inevitable conclusion ~ things were not going to get better quickly or in time to save their businesses.

If you follow the link to the UB stories, be sure to scroll all the way down to the comments from locals.