The Breakwall Food & Spirits closed for tax delinquency

AVON LAKE — The Breakwall Food & Spirits had its vendor's license suspended by the Ohio Department of Taxation last week for failing to pay taxes. It will not reopen. A public notice was placed on The Breakwall's front door stating that the restaurant and bar is prohibited from making retail sales on or after Tuesday, Jan. 7. Owner Serena Zinsmeister said she knew the business would have to close, but the license suspension came sooner than expected. She and her husband Joe Zinsmeister, who helped out around the restaurant, had discussed having yesterday as the final day open. The Breakwall moved to its location in the Drug Mart Plaza, 33382 Walker Road, last summer after the lease was not renewed at its previous home on Lear Road. The new Breakwall was almost double the size of the old location, but it came with a monthly rent bill $1,000 higher than the old location, as well as higher utility bills and taxes that Serena Zinsmeister said the business couldn't handle. "Ultimately, the IRS was my demise," she said. The staff was cut nearly in half as revenue did not keep pace with the larger restaurant, due in part to the extended closure of parts of Moore Road, Zinsmeister added. "To me I thought it had great potential. And we tried," she said. "But in the end it wasn't enough." Suddenly without a business to run for the first time since 2013, Zinsmeister said she plans to spend time with family and eventually seek a career outside the restaurant industry. She said she and her husband will be "starting over" financially due to their losses toward the end of the Breakwall, but for now, she plans to enjoy time with her first grandchild, who is due soon. Still, Zinsmeister was sentimental when reflecting on the Breakwall's seven years in business, thanking staff for their loyalty through the restaurant's ups and downs. "I really appreciate everyone who stood by us all these years," she said. "I've had a lot of really good ones and I do appreciate that. Same with customers. The city was really good about helping me try to move and succeed." Describing the business as "by far the best bar in Avon Lake," she compared it to the local equivalent of the iconic "Cheers" bar from TV, a place where the staff had all the regulars' orders memorized. "We just knew. We just cared that much about everybody and the community. I tried so hard," Zinsmeister said. "I don't look at it as a failure. I look at it as something great that I got to do for a very long time and I got to meet a lot of great people. A lot of great friends over the years." Contact Dylan Reynolds at (440) 329-7123 or dreynolds@chroniclet.com. Follow him on Twitter @DRey1357.