10/07/2026
It is with an incredibly heavy heart that I announce Fork With It Kitchen & Bar is closing, effective immediately.
**If you have a Fork With It or The District CR gift card, please email me at [email protected]
I want to answer a few things upfront.
Yes, my staff knew this was a possibility, and I have been communicating with them. I will do everything I can to help them find other jobs, and I’m incredibly grateful that some have already been offered opportunities elsewhere. I truly have had the most amazing staff anyone could ask for, and this is one of the hardest parts of this decision.
No, I did not want to close.
And I also want to make one thing very clear: **changing from The District CR to Fork With It was not a bad decision, nor is it the reason we are closing.** In fact, the change helped keep us going. We were even busier this summer than we were the previous summers before. I’m proud of what we created with Fork With It, and I don’t regret making that change.
After speaking with my management team and my attorney and taking a hard look at the numbers, continuing operations at this scale simply isn’t financially feasible. With rising food costs, inflation, operating expenses, and everything else that comes with running a restaurant, the money just isn’t there. Continuing would mean taking on more debt, and at this point, that is not a responsible decision for me or the business.
But Fork With It was so much more than numbers on a spreadsheet.
You celebrated birthdays, anniversaries, date nights, weddings, graduations, family dinners, girls’ nights, business meetings, and “we just don’t feel like cooking tonight” nights with us. You sat at our tables, ordered our food, tried our crazy cocktails, laughed with our staff, and made memories inside these walls.
And somewhere along the way, I made some pretty amazing memories of my own.
I made friendships that I know will last long after the doors close. I met people I never imagined I would meet — including Rob Schneider, which is still pretty damn cool — and I got to know so many wonderful people in our community.
There were stressful days, crazy days, packed nights, slow nights, construction headaches, laughs in the kitchen, drinks after long shifts, mistakes, lessons, and moments I will never forget.
Most importantly, there were people.
To every employee who ever clocked in and helped make this place what it was: thank you.
To every customer who chose to spend their money and their time with us: thank you.
To everyone who celebrated a special moment at Fork With It: thank you for allowing us to be a small part of your story.
To our vendors, friends, family, downtown neighbors, and everyone who shared a post, recommended us to someone, left a review, brought in friends, or simply walked through our doors: thank you.
Owning a restaurant has taught me more than I could ever put into one Facebook post. I don’t regret taking the chance. I don’t regret changing things when I believed change was needed. And I certainly don’t regret the friendships, the memories, or the experience.
Sometimes loving something isn’t enough to make the numbers work, and knowing when you can no longer responsibly continue is one of the hardest decisions a business owner can make.
Fork With It may be closing its doors, but I will forever be grateful for the people who made it what it was.
Thank you for eating with us, drinking with us, celebrating with us, laughing with us, supporting us, and getting a little Forked Up with us along the way.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you for being part of Fork With It.
Desiree
Owner, Fork With It Kitchen & Bar
