Michael’s on the Hill in Waterbury Center served its final meals under current owners Andrew Kohn and Don Jones on April 5. On Friday, the married couple announced the restaurant’s closure. Kohn, 46, said Michael’s and the 4-acre property at 4182 Waterbury-Stowe Road are for sale for $1,299,000. Kohn and Jones bought the then-21-year-old business in September 2023 for $1.2 million from founding co-owners, chef Michael Kloeti and his wife, Laura.
Kohn attributed the restaurant closure to financial challenges. Those started in the couple’s first year of ownership with the unexpected $50,000 to $60,000 cost of a new second-floor exit needed to comply with fire code, he said. Slumping tourism traffic “compounded” the situation, Kohn said.
The couple were not able to secure a loan through traditional banking channels due to their status as new owners, Kohn continued, and had to take what he described as a loan at “predatory” interest rates. “We had no choice,” he said. Without that money, “We would have closed over a year and a half ago.”
In late 2024, Kohn and Jones opened a wine bar and retail shop, Michael’s on the Mountain, at 1799 Mountain Road to help diversify revenue streams and provide another sales channel for food made in the flagship restaurant’s kitchen. Kohn said the couple closed that shop in November. “You cut the lifeboat to save the bigger ship,” he said.
Business at Michael’s on the Hill was up in January and February, Kohn said, but then down again in March. “We tried to do bistro menus. We tried to do takeout nights. I mean, we tried everything,” he said.
Kohn and Jones continue to own and run Stowe’s Brass Lantern Inn, which they bought in 2022 after moving to Vermont from Columbus, Ohio, with their two children.
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