Fountains Take 2 Closes on South Young After Three Years of Seafood and Soul
Chef Lemont Fountain shuttered the 30 S. Young St. dining room, is selling kitchen gear, and now runs Chef Up at Classics Victories.
Another independent Columbus kitchen has gone dark. Fountains Take 2, the seafood and soul food restaurant co-owned by Chef Lemont Fountain at 30 S. Young St., closed after roughly three years, following a July 27 Facebook post that said the doors were shutting and kitchen equipment would be sold.
The brand began as a food truck and catering business before Fountain took on a roughly 4,000-square-foot dining room. Beyond dinner service, the operation fed school meals in the community and hosted cooking classes for youth and adults.
Details in this story draw from 614NOW's report on the Fountains Take 2 closing and the restaurant's own site at fountainstaketwo.com.
What Fountain said, and what comes next
The farewell post thanked guests for the chance to serve and said the friendships and impact would outlast the dining room. Fountain is not leaving the stove. He is now operating Chef Up out of Classics Victories, a concept focused on classic bar food and lunch plates, while seeking local partnerships to keep the catering arm alive.
He also wrapped a final culinary camp, framing food as a path to opportunity rather than only a ticketed dinner. That community lane was part of the S. Young Street identity even when the plated seafood and soul menu got the headlines. Fountain's public bio on the restaurant site still traces a path from Le Cordon Bleu training through trucks, school nutrition, and education work in Columbus.
What the loss means on the Near East edge of downtown
Thirty South Young sat off the Short North and Arena District flash points, which made Fountains Take 2 a destination for diners who wanted seafood-and-soul plates without a High Street crowd. Closing the room removes that address from the map even if catering and Chef Up keep Fountain's name in circulation.
If you are redrawing a comfort-food night, start with Things to Do: Food & Drink. Smoke-forward rankings live on 2026 Best BBQ. Neighborhood orientation for nearby corridors includes German Village and Arena District. Date-night budgets still looking for a full plate can use cheap date night.
The S. Young dining room is closed. Watch for Chef Up lunch service and any catering partnership Fountain announces next.
