Quincy couple plans to close Dunnbelly’s on Aug. 18; popular dishes to be on menu for final week

QUINCY — Owners Brad and Karyn Dunn announced Monday their plans to close Dunnbelly, a bar and bistro at 4403 Broadway, on Aug. 18.

However, Karyn says it won’t be the last that Quincy hears of the Dunns in the culinary industry.

“Culinary, to be cheesy, is our bread and butter,” Karyn said in a Monday interview. “It’s where our strengths lie, but I would be remiss to speculate too broadly at this particular stage. All I know is that Brad and I have a million dreams and a million ideas. Should Dunnbelly 2.0 or whatever it might be come to fruition, it might just look a little bit differently than what it currently does.”

The Dunns opened their restaurant in October 2017 in the former Lakeview Restaurant building. Dunnbelly serves modern American comfort food made from scratch with fresh ingredients. Craft cocktails and a selection of wines also are served. Karyn is the pastry chef and general manager, while Brad is the chef and sommelier.

Karyn said the economic climate for small businesses in Quincy has been “tough and tight.”

“Inflation is through the roof, and in general, the margins of what we’re able to do is not as optimal as we’d like,” she said. “We just know that this concept, at least designed as we dreamed it and envisioned it in this particular space and the way everything fell together, it’s really just not leading us forward in the way that we dreamed that it would.

“We’re hopeful of what the next phase of Dunnbelly might be, but this will definitely be the closure of a really big chapter. We’re looking forward to what the next part of the Dunnbelly story might be, but we don’t know what that’s going to necessarily be or what the timeline is for that.”

Karyn said a health scare for Brad shortly after the COVID pandemic forced the couple to re-evaluate the future of the restaurant.

“We knew for him the lifestyle of being on his feet 60 hours a week behind a hot grill was not going to be sustainable for us long term,” Karyn said. “We have been looking at what those changes might look like and how to do right by our family and do right by our physical and mental and emotional health. We just started looking at it a little more pragmatically. Where does this fit in our world? Is this lifestyle sustainable? How can we do right by the community and still do right by ourselves?”

The news last month that the Otis Company of Omaha, Neb., plans to put four restaurants and a convenience store on the northeast corner of 54th and Broadway was not a factor in the decision to close Dunnbelly, according to the owner.

“It wasn’t even really on my radar, to be totally honest,” Karyn said. “We’ve had our face down, just doing the work that has to be done right in front of us. (The new restaurants were) not influential in our decision.”

The Dunns plan to celebrate seven years of service in the restaurant business with an array of the most-requested specials and desserts and a rotation of seasonal menus from Aug. 13-17.

Dunnbelly’s final day on Aug. 18 will offer “The Last Supper,” a multi-course dinner that Karyn called a “celebration of the culinary skills and creative passion of the chefs.” They will continue to use fresh ingredients and make dishes using farm-inspired recipes. Tickets can be purchased in advance at www.dunnbelly.com/shop/last-supper.

 “Although this is not the end of the Dunnbelly story, closing this chapter is bittersweet,” Brad Dunn said in a press release. “We hope the community will come out to help us celebrate Dunnbelly over the next couple weeks.”

Dunnbelly remains open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 4:30 to 8 p.m. on Tuesdays through Saturdays through Aug. 17. The restaurant also is offering to-go packages of signature items such as salad dressings, sauces, pickles, jams, various dessert items and Dunnbelly merchandise.

“We are nothing without our staff, and we’re nothing without our patrons,” Karyn said. “This has been a gift to develop these relationships with people and share the moments when people got married in our building and came here to celebrate special times. They will have those memories forever. What’s better than that?”

A video interview with Karyn Dunn from February 2023 can be seen at Muddy River TV+.