A Searsport restaurant that serves European-style tapas dishes will soon close.
Rio’s Spiked Cafe, which opened three years ago as part of a wave of eateries coming to Searsport, announced on Friday that it will permanently close on Oct. 4.
Rio’s, located along Route 1 between downtown Searsport and Belfast, made the announcement about the abrupt closure on Facebook.
“Please be aware that as of today, Friday 9/27 we’ll have a limited menu as we are closing the restaurant permanently on Oct. 4th,” the business said.
The Facebook post did not specify the reasons for the closure, and staff declined to comment on Friday afternoon.
Rio’s closure comes at something of a turning point in Searsport, with a downtown sidewalk reconstruction project nearing completion and several other businesses changing locations or ownership.
On Facebook, various people and businesses shared their dismay about the closure.
“So sorry to hear this. You all invested so much time into making it such a beautiful dining experience,” another local business, Splendiferous Sweet Shoppe, wrote in a comment. “Hope all works out for you all, this has been such a hard year for so many of our businesses.”
“That is very sad,” one patron said. “You guys put so much of yourselves into Rio’s.”
