One of the original restaurants in the heart of Downtown Disney in Anaheim, California, will close its doors in two weeks.
Catal Restaurant and its popular outdoor Uva Bar will close on April 14, the eatery announced on Instagram. The two restaurants have been staples of the outdoor shopping mall at the Disneyland resort for more than two decades since Downtown Disney opened in 2001.
The restaurant said we're celebrating 22 years of wonderful, delicious food from now to our last day of service. You can sip favorite cocktails from the past two decades as we toast to the laughs, the memories, and the meals. Come cheers with us one more time. Catal Restaurant is closing for a major new redevelopment of Downtown Disney, according to Disneyland's website. Over the past year, retailers including an Earl of Sandwich location and an AMC theater have had their storefronts demolished to make way for new additions, SFGATE reported. Disney will soon welcome Din Tai Fung, a Chinese restaurant chain best known for its soup dumplings, and California dessert favorite Porto's Bakery Caf Disneyland, who filed building permits for new construction at $5.4 million in December 2022, according to the Orange County Register.
The permits filed with the Anaheim Planning and Building Department say that there is a new 8,300 square-foot retail building with room for five shops. A new bathroom and employee break room is also in the works, according to the outlet.
The permits show that Disney plans to build an event space with a 1,250 square-foot stage, shade structure and 21 lights.
The construction on the project has progressed slowly. The demolished area is still an empty lot, according to SFGate. Renovations have been delayed because of the unusually rainy weather in California.
Taking over the former location that once housed Catal Restaraunt and Uva Bar are Paseo and C ntrico, a restaurant and courtyard bar that will offer upscale Mexican food and tequila-based cocktails with a menu by Michelin-starred chef Carlos Gayt n.
Catal and the Uva Bar are owned by Patina Restaurant Group, which owns six restaurants in Downtown Disney and more in Walt Dinsey World and Disney Springs in Florida.
Patrons commenting on Catal Restaurant's Instagram post were sad to see one of their favorite restaurants go.
One user wrote. This is an amazing restaurant. If you brought back the menu from 2001, I bet that guest would be knocking down the door!