What Happened to Sokolowski's After Best Thing I Ever Ate? (Cleveland, OH)
Best Thing I Ever Ate, Season 3 Cleveland, Ohio Closed 2020
Current status
As of October 2026, Sokolowski's has closed — confirmed via eatingtheworld.net, October 23, 2020.
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. How we decide a status →
- Episode Season 3, Episode 3
- Address 1201 University Rd, Cleveland, OH 44113
- Website No current website found
- Show map
© OpenStreetMap contributors © CARTO
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.
The episode
Also in Season 3
Season 3: 63 of 93 still open · 3 renamed, moved or under new owners
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Ep 2Beano's Cabin
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Ep 3Magnolias
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Ep 3Tony Luke's
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Before you go: 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 we checked
- 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
We work hard to keep every status accurate and dated, but restaurants change fast and our sources aren't perfect. If something here is wrong — a status, a name, an address, anything — tell us what you're seeing and where you saw it, and we'll check it.
Record btiea-0209 · checked by Cal Marchetti.