“TAPEO TAPAS BAR AND RESTAURANT IS PERMANENTLY CLOSED.”
Like a clap of flamenco, Tapeo s Dec. 13 post announced an abrupt ending to one of Clematis Street’s more unique spots, a two-year-old tapas and paella bar where live Spanish music often spilled across the waterfront commons area.
The announcement followed a heated partnership breakup, a still-active lawsuit filed by one partner against another, and, of course, nine months of pandemic-era blows to the nation’s food-and-dining businesses.
The most recent economic impact report issued by the crowd-sourced review site Yelp.com found the restaurant industry remained “among the most impacted with an increasing number of closures.” More than 60 percent of those COVID-related closures were permanent shutdowns, according to the September findings.