MUNCIE, IN — Vera Mae’s Bistro, a downtown Muncie dining landmark for a quarter-century, has closed.
“Vera Mae’s will be closing its doors effective immediately,” according to a posting on the restaurant’s website on Monday, March 2.
Staff at Vera Mae’s Bistro prepares the restaurant for its dinner opening in 2021.
“We are deeply grateful for every meal shared, every conversation had, and for every memory made within these walls,” the release said.
“Vera Mae’s helped lay the groundwork for what comes next — and we can’t wait to see how this space continues to serve the community in a new way, as we are working on a new initiative that will provide direct support for local entrepreneurs.”
Vera Mae’s opened in 1999 as a lunch delivery and catering business but grew to establish itself as one of the most popular and well regarded restaurants in the area.
Over the years, it became known for hosting family celebrations. Its owners, Kent Shuff and Steve Fennimore, renovated 209 S. Walnut St. and opened their business there before much of the redevelopment of the downtown district had yet to occur.
In September 2022, it was announced Accutech Systems Corp. had purchased the downtown restaurant.
“Rather than close the door’s of Vera’s, we’ve chosen to sell the business, so it may remain a space for people to continue to gather and honor the momentous occasions in their lives,” Shuff and Fennimore wrote at that time.
This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Muncie’s Vera Mae’s Bistro closes its doors after 25 years
