Just a few months after opening a new location downtown, Great House BBQ appears to have closed for good.
The furnishings have been removed from the restaurant at 11 W. Old State Capitol Plaza, and Ben Call, a broker with The Real Estate Group who is one of the property owners, confirmed the tenants moved out by mutual agreement.
Renatta Frazier owned the business along with three of her four children: Kurtis Mitchell, Dianna Mitchell and Benjamin “BJ” Frazier. Another son, Kourtney Mitchell, was a silent partner.
Call said he is under the impression the family may be moving out of the area, although Frazier could not be reached for comment.
The family originally opened Great House BBQ in October 2019 at 4233 W. Wabash Ave. The west-side location closed last summer, and Frazier hoped to be open downtown by August. However, the issue of whether or not the existing hood and exhaust system had to be replaced – at significant expense – caused delays in getting the new location at Fifth and Adams streets open. The space at 11 W. Old State Capitol Plaza had most recently housed The Incubator, a café, bar and co-working space that closed during the early days of the pandemic.
In addition, Frazier previously told SBJ several other businesses were in the works that would be operated by various family members. She was also leasing space at 9 W. Old State Capitol Plaza, which formerly housed The Remedy Bar & Drinkery, and son B.J. planned to open a bar and nightclub. Daughter Dianna planned to operate a bakery in the space at 5 W. Old State Capitol where Long Nine Junction was previously located.
Call said Truth Lounge, the nightclub that recently opened in the lower level of 11 W. Old State Capitol Plaza, will expand to the main level and take over the Great House BBQ space. For now, he and his business partners plan to wait before putting the other properties back on the market for lease.
“We’re going to redo the entire façade from the sidewalk up 20 feet, all the way around. We’ll start work as soon as the weather breaks,” Call said. “Hopefully that’s going to draw in some new folks.”
