An upscale Cleveland restaurant that billed its specialty as “Italian Food with an American Flair” closed its doors Wednesday, becoming the latest victim of an ongoing national recession that is devastating the restaurant industry.

Oliver’s, a 4-year-old establishment on North Keith Street was favored by a strong, yet limited, customer base, nonetheless has shut down its operations because of an economy-fueled drop in overall volume, especially over the past couple of years.

“I don’t have an explanation,” said Bill Emendorfer, chief manager of Cleveland Restaurant Operators, a local investment group of owners which includes Emendorfer. “We (Oliver’s) were getting close to the volume we needed, but when the economy tanked ... we had a sales decrease.”

He said this summer has been “ ... especially hard for us.”

About 40 full- and part-time employees were notified of the restaurant’s closing Wednesday morning. When the doors were locked after the Tuesday night shift, it was the final time. Emendorfer said all employees have been given instructions on how to pick up their final paychecks.

A sign on the chained front doors reads, “Due to unfortunate circumstances, Oliver’s is closed for business effective immediately. All Oliver’s employees can pick up your pay check on Monday, Aug. 2 between 9-11 a.m.”

Emendorfer said in the restaurant industry it is necessary to make closure announcements in this way as opposed to pre-announcements.

“Cleveland has been an unusual market,” he said of restaurant’s brief local history. “It has not performed like we thought it would. We had customers in the community who were very supportive, and we thank them for that. But overall, we have not seen the kind of volume that we expected.”

The longtime restaurant professional said he is disappointed, but stressed this was the decision of the investment group.

“We had some tremendous support in the community,” he added, but pointed out the investment group felt it best to make the decision now because of fears that the recession will continue.

“The restaurant industry has been hit hard, especially casual dining,” Emendorfer stressed.

The decision comes at an unfortunate, and ironic, time because the restaurant’s guest surveys have shown strong satisfaction for Oliver’s food, atmosphere and customer service, he said. “Oliver’s had the highest guest satisfaction of any restaurant I’ve ever been associated with,” Emendorfer said. “I get these comments all the time. It’s crazy.”

Small businesses, the category most restaurants are included in, have been impacted the most by the struggling U.S. economy, he added.

Emendorfer said the site’s property owners will attempt to sell the building. Oliver’s is the second restaurant to locate in the North Keith Street structure. The original owner was Brick Oven Grille.