Amber, a Locust Point restaurant serving coffee, craft beer and gastropub-style fare, closed permanently over the weekend.

The restaurant opened on the ground floor of the Anthem House apartments almost seven years ago amid a different world for dining, said owner Gino Kozera. In the aftermath of the pandemic, Amber has struggled to find its footing and draw in customers.

Kozera said everything from the decline in beer drinking to the resumption of student loan payments to the legalization of recreational cannabis played a role in declining sales. “People would walk and barhop” in the neighborhood prior to the pandemic, but that’s not happening anymore, he said. “People have learned to change their habits since COVID.”

The past few years have seen a number of restaurants close in Locust Point, including The Local Oyster, which operated a restaurant on East Fort Avenue in a building that is also part of Anthem House. Kneads Bakeshop & Cafe operated a pop-up out of the Local Oyster‘s old spot but shut that down, too. In 2023, the neighborhood lost longtime eatery 1157 Bar + Kitchen. Approximately two blocks away, Caribbean restaurant Peppa Flame recently closed. Home Maid on Key Highway officially shut down last year following months of speculation. Pancho Villa, the Tex-Mex restaurant that replaced it last fall, closed before New Year’s.

Kozera said he considered reaching out to regulars in a bid to save Amber, a tactic taken by eateries like Heritage Smokehouse. But he ultimately decided against it. “It might just extend the pain. The long goodbye is hard,” he said. ”I think sometimes you have to pivot and move on.”

But it’s not all gloom and doom. In the last year alone, Limoncello Pizzeria launched in Anthem House, Easy like Sunday and CHX both opened in McHenry Row, Morning Mugs added a second location on Beason Street and Dirty Dough debuted its latest branch in Southside Marketplace. A new concept called Good to Great is set to replace 1157 Bar + Kitchen this spring.