Applewood Closing; Road Project Hurt Business

By Mike Perleberg

Applewood by the River has closed after a very slow summer of business, largely due to the reconstruction of State Road 56 through downtown Aurora.

Applewood

(Aurora, Ind.) - A longtime Aurora restaurant is calling it quits and a road project is getting the blame.

On Saturday, the owners of the Applewood by the River announced that they are closing the business for good.

“Nineteen years yesterday that we had a restaurant,” owner Donna Ruther said Tuesday. “I loved this place.”

Applewood was popular with local diners because of its Ohio River views, well-liked ribs and chicken, and live music. The neon palm trees looming over the rear courtyard were a local landmark.

Owners said the ongoing reconstruction of State Road 56 which began in June was just too much. The construction project had the street in front of the restaurant torn up and off-limits to traffic for a number of weeks. Vehicles could still access the Applewood parking lot by crossing S.R. 56, but the motorists travelling through downtown from U.S. 50 were mostly directed on a different route that did not pass by the restaurant.

Ruther said business was down about 70 percent this past summer.

“We get through our winters here because of the business we do in the summer. I tried to be strong and get through it but we just couldn’t,” she said.

Aurora Mayor Donnie Hastings. Jr. concurred that the S.R. 56 reconstruction project played a role in Applewood’s closure.

“Anytime a local business closes down it’s not good for the city. When you lose an anchor business it’s a real loss for everybody,” said Hastings.

Although the road project is a state undertaking, not the City of Aurora’s, the city tried to make it as convenient as possible for folks to get in and out of their businesses, Hastings said. The city placed signs and arrows around downtown pointing the way to businesses. The lower half of Second Street was converted from a one-way to a two-way street.

He said the city had been working with downtown businesses over the past seven years to help them prepare for the Indiana Department of Transportation project the city knew was coming.

“When you have progress there is going to be some inconvenience,” Hastings said, noting that the city saved money by installing new utility infrastructure at the same time INDOT contracted crews were reconstructing the road.

But Ruther contends that the signs weren’t helpful enough as INDOT continued to change the detours.

“We just became too difficult to find for our customers from Cincinnati. Even people from Aurora told us they couldn’t find how to get in here,” said Ruther.

The orange barrels and signs could be vanishing soon. The contracted completion date of the S.R. 56 reconstruction project is November 15, according to INDOT.

Ruther thanked her 50 Applewood employees for sticking with the restaurant during a slow summer. Those servers, bartenders, and cooks will now be looking for work elsewhere. As for Ruther, she plans to retire.

Applewood’s owners have been selling off various items since the announcement. The items include paintings, furniture, and kitchen and bar equipment. Interested individuals can go to the restaurant to ask about purchasing.