Shoemakers American Grille to close after 18 years in downtown Lynchburg

Landmark restaurant will serve its final dinner Oct. 3 as its space and the Craddock Terry Event Center are converted into 22 additional hotel rooms.

LYNCHBURG, Va. — Shoemakers American Grille, a restaurant that helped establish downtown Lynchburg as a dining destination during the early years of downtown's revitalization, will close after 18 years.

The restaurant inside the Craddock Terry Hotel will serve its final dinner Oct. 3, while the hotel's Event Center will continue hosting gatherings through Oct. 31. The restaurant and event spaces will then be converted into 22 additional guest rooms for the historic hotel.

The Craddock Terry Hotel and Waterstone Pizza will remain open throughout the renovation.

“After 18 incredible years, our final dinner service will be October 3, 2026,” Shoemakers told customers in announcing the closing. “We hope you’ll join us over the next couple of weeks to enjoy a favorite dish, share a bottle of wine, and make one more memory around our tables.”

For much of its 18-year run, Shoemakers was one of Lynchburg's better-known destinations for upscale dining and special occasions. The restaurant built a reputation for steaks, seafood and wine and received recognition over the years from Distinguished Restaurants of North America, Virginia Living and Tripadvisor.

But its significance extended beyond the dining room.

Shoemakers and the Craddock Terry Hotel represented a new use for buildings tied to Lynchburg's industrial past. The historic property was once part of the Craddock-Terry Shoe Company, which grew from its Lynchburg roots into one of the nation's major shoe manufacturers.

Hal Craddock, great-grandson of Craddock-Terry founder John W. Craddock, served as chief architect and developer of the hotel project, working with architect Lynn Cunningham and local construction specialist Cliff Harrison.

The development team said Shoemakers was conceived as a high-end restaurant that could complement the boutique hotel and help raise the profile of downtown Lynchburg as a dining and entertainment destination.

The project also became part of the broader redevelopment of Lynchburg's riverfront. In announcing the restaurant's closing, the development team credited Shoemakers with helping build momentum for the Bluffwalk, which today links restaurants, businesses and gathering places along the downtown bluff.

Over nearly two decades, Shoemakers became a setting for weddings, rehearsal dinners, anniversaries, birthdays, business dinners and other celebrations.

“For nearly two decades, Shoemakers has been much more than a restaurant,” the development team said. “It has been a gathering place for first dates and anniversary dinners, business meetings and celebrations, rehearsal dinners and wedding festivities, birthdays, holiday traditions and countless evenings shared among family and friends.”

The conversion of the restaurant and Event Center will expand the Craddock Terry Hotel's lodging capacity by 22 rooms. The hotel, now part of Marriott's Tribute Portfolio, will remain open during the renovation, along with Waterstone Pizza.

Shoemakers is encouraging customers to return during its remaining weeks for a final meal. The restaurant currently operates Thursday through Saturday from 5 to 9 p.m.

Customers who still have Shoemakers gift cards can use them before the restaurant closes. The cards will also continue to be honored at Waterstone Pizza after Shoemakers closes.

“To our guests, team members, friends and the entire Lynchburg community: thank you for making Shoemakers your own and for 18 extraordinary years,” the restaurant said. “We are deeply grateful for every celebration, every meal and every memory shared with us.”