After eight years of serving up New Orleans style cuisine to Meridian, Crescent City Grill has closed its doors.

    Co-owner Robert St. John cited lack of business as the reason for closing.  

    “We had hoped to keep the restaurant open through the holidays,” he said in a written statement, “but when sales didn’t materialize coming out of the summer, we had no other choice than to cease operations.”

    The original Crescent City Grill is located in Hattiesburg, and remains open. The Meridian location was popular with locals, but apparently not popular enough to support itself.

    The 61 employees of the restaurant have all lost their jobs, but a statement released by Lagniappe Restaurant Group, the company that owns the restaurant, said General Manager Robyn Farquhar will work through the holidays to help those employees find new jobs.

    “Everyone who has worked here has developed meaningful relationships with our co-workers and customers, and those relationships are what we will miss the most,” Farquhar said in the statement.

    The statement also reported that the company will not file bankruptcy and plans to pay off all of its vendors.

What you said

    Here’s a look at what some of the Meridian Star’s fans on Facebook had to say about the closure of Crescent City Grill:

    • LaToya Atterberry: Say it’s not so! That’s my favorite place to just chill and eat.

    • Judy Shirley Chitwood: Wow. . . Thought they were doing a great business.

    • Megan Croley: Oh no! That’s my favorite restaurant.

    • Derron Radcliff: Sad news, I loved that place.

    • Nancy Worley Ziller: I really hate to hear this, but unfortunately, I am not at all surprised. Meridian is fickle.

    • Judy Ann Cook: Funny how many restaurants try and fail at this location.