Forte The Restaurant, located at 114 E. Third St., Jamestown, will be closing its doors for the foreseeable future, stated Peggy Kaltenmeier, restaurant owner, via a Facebook post Tuesday. P-J photo by Dennis Phillips

A mainstay of the downtown dining community will be closing its doors for the foreseeable future.

On Tuesday, Peggy Kaltenmeier, Forte The Restaurant owner, announced via a Facebook post the restaurant, located at 114 E. Third St., Jamestown, will cease normal operations for a number of months. She said there were so many factors that went into the decision, with the COVID-19 pandemic being the main catalyst. She added that it’s difficult for Forte to survive through a time frame where the restaurant isn’t able to accommodate 100% of its seating capacity.

Kaltenmeier also said without movies, plays, live music and without a typical amount of visitors for either the National Comedy Center or Chautauqua Institution, there are less people downtown, which means fewer customers.

“It breaks my heart to announce that I have made the unfortunate decision to cease normal Forte operations for a number of months,” Kaltenmeier said.

For more than 15 years, Forte has become a welcomed respite for our guests, Kaltenmeier said.

“A home away from home … an experience to take part in. We have happily become part of the fabric of the arts corridor, and through this pandemic, I realize now more than ever how interconnected all of the facets of downtown and our larger community are,” she said. “In order to stay afloat, we need all aspects of Forte to be thriving.”

Kaltenmeier said she was happily surprised at how busy Forte was for carryout orders, but it wasn’t enough to compensate for all of the other areas of revenue the restaurant is losing.

“Thank you so much to my staff for taking on strange new roles as we moved into a to-go only operation,” she said. “Your willingness to do whatever was needed to continue our mission to nourish our community was awe inspiring. And a huge thank you to so many of our regulars who continued to support us, even without the ability to come in and enjoy the full Forte experience, which we so greatly desire to give you.”

Kaltenmeier told patrons of the restaurant to stay tuned to social media as she will continue to be active on Facebook and Instagram.

“That’s where you will find any information regarding special events in the coming weeks and months, and our eventual reopening,” she said. “We are going to miss serving you regularly and cannot wait until we are allowed 100% occupancy and consumer spending returns to place of confidence. I’m not sure how long we will be closed for but, I certainly hope that we are able to serve you again at some point in 2020.”