Ninny's Restaurant closing doors in downtown New Albany

By CHRIS MORRIS, New Albany Tribune
Chris.Morris@newsandtribune.com

New Albany is losing another downtown business.

Ninny's Restaurant, 506 W. Main St., will be closing for good at the end of business Feb. 25.

Donna Broughton - who has owned the restaurant since June 2000 - said her lease comes up in March and added that she could not afford to sign a new one with an unstable economy.

"I need to quit before I get too far behind," she said. "This is just really emotional for me."

Broughton said her business started dropping off last year when gas prices kept going up.

"It started picking up a little here and there but not enough to stay open," she said Friday afternoon. "I just am not making enough to make ends meet."

Broughton said she began closing after lunch in November. She said the economy - and competition from Lancaster's Cafe, which sits directly behind her business - led to that decision.

"He hurt my dinnertime business real bad," she said. "He has an established name, and I just have too much overhead to try and keep up with them."

Ninny's employs seven people and three of them are related to Broughton. She said she also has been working around the clock.