Lima's Macy's stays open, but restaurant will close

LIMA - While the recipe for Lazarus bread pudding can be found online, it just won't be the same as enjoying a plate from the third floor perch at Macy's Cafe.

While the Lima Macy's store is not one of 11 the company announced closing Thursday, the department store is losing its restaurant. The Macy's Cafe is set to close Jan. 30, company spokeswoman Marla Shavin said.

Seventeen people work at the restaurant. They will be offered other positions in the store as they become available, Shavin said.

The restaurant's income was underperforming, Shavin said.

"Oh, that's too bad. I loved the bread pudding," said Marge DeVault, a frequent luncher there. "I'll miss that. I'll have to come back before they close."

The third-floor restaurant, a Lima Mall fixture, was quiet in recent years. The department store, first as Lazarus, came with an addition at the mall in 1971. It is known for its chicken salad sandwiches and bread pudding, along with upscale fundraisers. In 1998 and 1999, readers of The Lima News voted it the best place for lunch.

Department store restaurants used to be common, but they represent "almost a bygone era" Shavin said. Specials Thursday included grilled ham and swiss on rye and cherry crisp for dessert.

Eleanor Link, of Columbus Grove, and Marilyn Robey, of Cairo, had just finished lunch with seven other friends, all members of the Progressive Mothers Club, a group they formed in the 1940s while raising their children.

"It quit progressing a long time ago," Robey said jokingly. "Now it's just togetherness."

The ladies lunch once a month, and each month someone different picks the spot. Occasionally, it's the Cafe, but not that often, Link said.

"I guess that's probably why they're closing," Link said. "I remember a time when they were so busy you couldn't find a place to sit. Times change."

Lima store manager Maxine McKee referred comment to the corporate public relations office in Atlanta.

Cincinnati-based Macy's announced 11 store closings Thursday after reporting a 4 percent drop in sales over the previous year. None of the closings is in Ohio. Stores slated to close include locations in Los Angeles, West Palm Beach, Fla., Nashville, Tenn., and St. Louis, among others. The closest store to the area that is closing is in Indianapolis.