Two Howard County dining spots are shutting their doors as the year comes to an end.
Madrid Modern Latin, a Spanish restaurant in Columbia, announced Dec. 14 that it has closed after about a year and a half in business.
The restaurant, which debuted in the summer of 2022 and specialized in tapas, paella and live flamenco performances, was an expansion of Madrid Spanish Taverna, a concept with roots in Roswell, Georgia. Owner Abe Ruiz partnered with the Founder Growth Platform, an incubator program linked to local sports bar chain The Greene Turtle, to bring the tapas spot north.
Ruiz could not be reached for comment this week. A post on Madrid Modern Latin’s Facebook page did not offer a reason for the closure.
In Ellicott City, diners still have a few more days to visit Matcha Time Cafe, which will close Dec. 31 after a decade in business.
In a Facebook post, owner Hatsumi Watanabe-Smith said she will continue to operate her “thriving” Matcha Time Gift Shop on Old Ellicott City’s Main Street. But the store’s sister cafe in nearby parking lot D, which serves traditional ceremonial matcha as well as other teas and Japanese sweets like yuzu cheesecake and black sesame ice cream, has reached the end of its run.
“We had the honor of being welcomed into the Old Ellicott City Community, grow with you, cry with you, and come back after floods, TWICE,” Watanabe-Smith wrote. ‘We watched as businesses came, and went, and grew and blossomed in our little slice of town. So many changes, but so many things stay the same. We all fear, but at the same time, welcome change.”
“It’s been a great ride, but it’s time to get off this one and rest.”
Watanabe-Smith could not be reached for further comment Wednesday, but hinted she might have other plans in the works.
“This isn’t ‘good bye.’ We’re still contemplating our next venture, be it in [Old Ellicott City] or somewhere else in the area,” she wrote. “But for now, we will live on at the Gift Shop.”
