Hero, the sandwich shop at 30 City Center co-owned by Todd Bernard of Empire and the owners of Otto, closed abruptly Monday after having been open just five months.

A sign posted on the door announced the closing and thanked customers for their business. The shop had opened on March 4 during the First Friday Art Walk.

Eric Shepherd, spokesman for the Otto restaurant group, confirmed that the closure is permanent.

“The partnership and the concept just didn’t pan out like we had hoped,” he said. “The location wasn’t performing at the level it needed to to keep going, so we just made the decision to close it.”

Shepherd said the Otto group will now focus on getting its new location at 250 Read St. open. The pizza restaurant has been planned for months but the opening has been delayed while owners Mike Keon and Anthony Allen worked on other projects. Shepherd said they are now hoping to open in late August.

The new Otto will have more booth seating and a dozen taps, more than any other Otto location, Shepherd said.

Meredith Goad can be contacted at 791-6332 or at:

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