LaSalle Grill closed for good on February 25, 2026. The downtown South Bend restaurant served its last dinner that Wednesday night, a few weeks short of 35 years in business.
If you came here for hours, reservations or the Tuesday wine special, none of that exists anymore. Here is what happened, and what is left in the space.
What Happened to LaSalle Grill
Mark McDonnell opened LaSalle Grill at 115 West Colfax Avenue in April 1991. He ran it for three decades and handed the business to his daughter, Laurel Marnocha, in 2021.
The closing came down to money. The owners said that after sitting down with their financial advisor, closing was the only option left. Independent fine dining has been squeezed from every direction since the pandemic: food costs, labor costs, unpredictable supply, and customers who go out less often and spend less when they do.
LaSalle Grill was not the only loss that winter. Tippecanoe Place, another longtime South Bend restaurant, had closed permanently about a month earlier.
What LaSalle Grill Was
For most of its run, LaSalle Grill was the answer when somebody in Michiana asked where to go for an anniversary, a graduation dinner, or a night that needed to feel like an occasion. The kitchen worked off a hardwood grill and a seasonal menu, upscale American cooking with French influences. Steaks came with Potatoes LaSalle, tobacco onions and bourbon butter. The wine list ran deep, and Tuesdays were half off bottles.
It earned AAA Four Diamond recognition and held it year after year, which is rare for an independent restaurant in a market this size.
The building has its own history. 115 West Colfax went up in 1868 as the St. Joseph Hotel, and it is among the oldest commercial buildings still standing in downtown South Bend.
What About LaSalle Kitchen and Tavern?
LaSalle Kitchen and Tavern, the gastropub upstairs at 115 1/2 West Colfax, had already announced a temporary closure in October 2025 while it worked through staffing problems and planned its next chapter. It never reopened. When the Grill closed in February, the tavern went with it.
What Happens to the Building
A local buyer already working in the area restaurant industry moved to take over the building, and the sale was reported as close to final shortly after the closing. What opens there next has not been publicly announced.
Where to Eat in Downtown South Bend Now
Downtown still has good options within a few blocks of the LaSalle building. Fiddler's Hearth on North Main Street is the Celtic pub locals actually go to, with live traditional music most nights of the week.
For a wider look at eating and getting around the area, our local guide to South Bend and Mishawaka covers food, history and the parts of town worth your time.
