Butapub, an Asian-fusion themed bar and restaurant in Rochester's South Wedge since late 2014, will close in the coming weeks.

Butapub owners Ed Mott and his son Asa Mott confirmed the closure and said their last day will be Sunday, March 10.

The Gregory Street establishment is located in the lower level of the Historic German House, a venue for concerts and other events. For the past four and a half years, Ed and Asa have managed the operations for both Butapub and the German House, and Ed says the costs for maintaining the entertainment venue put a strain on the restaurant aspect of the business.

"We've been struggling for some time now," Ed Mott said. "ButaPub, although no longer the flavor of the month, is still a decent business, but does not bring in enough money to pay for the German House as well. The additional rent, utilities and payroll ended up being too much. That in itself is bad, but isn't the worst of it. We went into a deal with the Rochester Rhino's Stadium that put us in a huge hole that we were never able to dig out of."

Butapub's unique menu has garnered an impressive 4-star rating on Yelp with more than 330 reviews, but as Mott said, managing the businesses simultaneously wasn't sustainable. Mott says the German House was simply not booking enough profitable events.

"I waited too long and gave employees and talent buyers too much time to effectively do their jobs with regards to booking the venue with viable concerts," he said.

Mott says they're working to stay open through March 10 for two reasons:

"Reason number one — we have three awesome concerts coming up," Mott said. "Kashmir, the premier Led Zeppelin tribute band, on March 1st and Dokken (the real Dokken) Acoustic set on March 7th in ButaPub and then again as the electronic version on March 8th in the Historic German House. Reason number two — we wanted to have a couple of weeks for our loyal patrons of ButaPub to come in and get one last meal designed and made by Asa or Matt (head chef). I know I'm taking every opportunity to get a last taste of the items on our unique menu."

Mott says the landlord for the building has already found a new tenant for the upstairs German House entertainment venue, but not for the restaurant level of the building at this time.

Coincidentally, Sunday's windstorm blew down the Butapub sign. Mott laughed when he said the symbolism was "the last nail in the coffin."

Although the South Wedge is considered a favorable neighborhood to live in, due to its many green spaces, murals, shops, cafes, restaurants, and bars, as well as its proximity to Highland Park, Mount Hope Cemetery, downtown, and more, the neighborhood has seen several businesses close in recent years.

In May of 2018, ORBS Restaurant and Bar closed. Before that Mise En Place and Zak's Avenue Gifts, both previously located on South Avenue, also closed in early 2018. Mis En Place, which operated at the corner of South and Gregory Street, still remains vacant more than a year later.

It's not all bad news for the South Wedge, however. While neighborhood residents will miss Butapub, there has been recent business investment elsewhere. Earlier this month, a new CBD shop opened up. Next Level House of CBD, located at the corner of S. Clinton Avenue and Alexander Street, helps provide customers with pain relief and anxiety management. Additionally, last summer Rochester Beer Park opened at the corner of S. Clinton and Averill Avenues. It's the first trailer-park themed bar in the area and even features a Winnebago that's been turned into a food truck.

It was anything but a soft opening this weekend for the South Wedge's newest bar, Rochester Beer Park. #ROC pic.twitter.com/inK4gmTwtC — Spectrum News ROC (@SPECNewsROC) June 4, 2018

There's also staples like Hedonist Chocolate, Stuart's Spices, and many more businesses that contribute to the neighborhood's vibrant feel. However, even with the abundance of options in the area, Butapub's closing will be sad news for nearby neighbors interested in unique food.