What Happened to Sokolowski's After Best Thing I Ever Ate? (Cleveland, OH)
Current status
As of September 2026, Sokolowski's has closed — confirmed via eatingtheworld.net, October 23, 2020.
Last verified
What the source shows: A food blog (Eating the World) reported on 2020-10-23 that Sokolowski's University Inn had closed permanently after nearly a century in business, and Cleveland19 reported on 2022-05-18 that the Tremont building was being redeveloped into an apartment complex.
- Season / episode Season 3, Episode 3
- Address 1201 University Rd, Cleveland, OH 44113
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What happened after Best Thing I Ever Ate?
The episode featured Sokolowski's University Inn's cafeteria-style Polish and Eastern European comfort food, including pierogi, stuffed cabbage, and other steam-table classics served family-style. The Tremont-neighborhood restaurant opened in 1923 and was run for decades by the Sokolowski family, winning a James Beard Foundation America's Classics award in 2014. According to the food blog Eating the World, the restaurant closed permanently in October 2020 after the family cited the financial strain of the COVID-19 pandemic. Cleveland19 reported on 2022-05-18 that the Tremont building where the restaurant operated was sold and slated for redevelopment into a multi-story apartment complex, indicating the space did not reopen as a restaurant.
Featured on Best Thing I Ever Ate
- Original air date
- Not confirmed
- Episode title
- Regional Favorites
- What was featured
- Sokolowski's cafeteria-style Polish comfort food and pierogi
- Role
- Featured restaurant
- Name on the broadcast
- Sokolowski's
Frequently asked questions
Is Sokolowski's still open in 2026?
As of September 2026, Sokolowski's has closed — confirmed via eatingtheworld.net, October 23, 2020.
What happened to Sokolowski's after Best Thing I Ever Ate?
The episode featured Sokolowski's University Inn's cafeteria-style Polish and Eastern European comfort food, including pierogi, stuffed cabbage, and other steam-table classics served family-style. As of September 2026, Sokolowski's has closed — confirmed via eatingtheworld.net, October 23, 2020.
Is Sokolowski's permanently closed?
As of September 2026, Sokolowski's has closed — confirmed via eatingtheworld.net, October 23, 2020. We publish a closure only with a dated source behind it, and we say plainly when it has not been independently confirmed.
Where is Sokolowski's located?
1201 University Rd, Cleveland, OH 44113. That is the address on the record as of September 7, 2026.
What season and episode of Best Thing I Ever Ate featured Sokolowski's?
Season 3, Episode 3 of Best Thing I Ever Ate. The episode is titled “Regional Favorites”.
Every status on this site carries a confidence label and a date, and names the source it rests on. Read the Editorial & Corrections Policy for what each label means and how quickly we act on corrections. The questions above are generated from this record's own published fields — we never publish a question we cannot answer from the data.
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Visit info
- Address
- 1201 University Rd, Cleveland, OH 44113
- Venue type
- restaurant
- Official website
- None found
- State hub
- TV restaurants in Ohio
Businesses change fast. Always confirm directly with the restaurant — call ahead, or check its own current website or social media — before making plans around anything on this page.
Sources
- eatingtheworld.net — https://eatingtheworld.net/2020/10/23/the-end-of-an-era-sokolowskis-university-inn-closing/
- cleveland19.com — https://www.cleveland19.com/2022/05/18/site-sokolowskis-tremont-be-turned-into-apartment-complex/
- Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sokolowski%27s_University_Inn
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Record btiea-0209 · last verified .