The oldest restaurant in central Ohio will close Jan. 1 for renovations for office, retail and restaurant space. No reopening has been set.

The Worthington Inn, considered Franklin County's oldest restaurant through its many incarnations since the mid-1850s, will close Tuesday for an indefinite period. The move is part of the owner's plan to renovate much of the restaurant into offices and retail space.

According to the restaurant's website, the renovation will include a smaller ground-level restaurant. No reopening date has been set.

"The first, second and third floors of the building will be renovated with working fireplaces, abundant natural light, wood plank flooring and generous ceiling heights," according to the post by Carrie Showe Rohyans, whose family owns the building.

The landmark at 649 High St. was originally built as a private residence in the 1830s. By 1854, it was operating as an inn, with food service. A Victorian facade facing High Street in downtown Worthington was added in the early 1900s.

In 1937, after a major renovation, the property reopened as the New England Inn in the style it has largely maintained since.

The restaurant has been a local favorite for banquets, receptions, Mother's Day and Easter brunches and other events for decades. The current restaurant has been in operation for 35 years, after the Showe family bought and renovated the property.

Social media postings Wednesday reflected widespread disappointment to the announcement.

"A beautiful historic bar and elegant restaurant is a rarity, and this is one which has been so dear to all of us," wrote one customer on the restaurant's website.

"The Worthington Inn is a big part of the charm of Downtown Worthington," wrote another. "What a colossal mistake to make it into yet another shared office area and other run-of-the-mill uses. This is going to prove to be a major mistake for the 'developers.' As a longtime Worthington resident (and someone who had their wedding reception in the ball room), I am greatly disappointed."

Bob Welcher, who heads Columbus-based Restaurant Consultants, said being known as a place one fondly remembers for going to "every year on your birthday is the curse of the restaurant business."

Welcher said he could see a new, smaller restaurant in the renovated property being "more of a lunch operation ... a cafe style that's more of an amenity to the building rather than a destination."

He said the days of large, aging restaurants are numbered, especially if the owners see a higher and better use for the property.

"It's a matter of being able to stay relevant in the market," Welcher said. "Flavors change, opinions change. If you don't change with the times, it's hard to compete."

The building, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, has undergone several changes. In 2007, a portion of the building was renovated from guest rooms into 11 condominiums.

The building is well-situated to capitalize on surging demand for "urban-suburban" offices that offer a walkable environment, said Michael Copella, managing director in the Columbus office of commercial real estate firm CBRE.

"The office space in similar 'downtowns' of Upper Arlington, New Albany and Dublin have had positive leasing success" for new offices, Copella said. Although Worthington overall has a higher office vacancy rate than suburban markets such as Polaris and Upper Arlington, most office space there is older and located in office parks, Copella added.

"When there has been new and nicer office product (in Worthington), it has leased up fairly quickly," Copella said.

Copella said event space has become very competitive, putting pressure on older properties such as the Worthington Inn to either spend a lot of money on improvements or to reinvent themselves. New spaces in developments such as Dublin's Bridge Park and the Franklin Park Conservatory and newly renovated urban properties such as the Smith Bros. Hardware building in Downtown are all vying for a piece of pie when it comes to corporate meetings, weddings and other gatherings.

mrose@dispatch.com

@MarlaMRose

An earlier version of this story included incorrect information. The Buxton Inn in Granville, which opened in 1812, is considered the oldest establishment serving food in central Ohio.