Restaurants close in condo building near UK. Smashburger, Firehouse Subs both gone.

Smashburger, which opened its first Kentucky location in April 2010 near the University of Kentucky, has closed.

It’s the second eatery to close this year in the CenterCourt development on South Upper, just off campus.

A fast-casual “better burger” concept, Smashburger closed after the end of July. The Lexington franchise is owned by the same partnership that owns the CenterCourt condo-retail development, which is part of an ongoing lawsuit which alleges poor construction, negligence and building code violations in the complex.

Another restaurant in the building, Firehouse Subs, closed in May. The only eatery open now in the development is Jamba Juice.

Another Smashburger location on Nicholasville Road remains open; two more Firehouse Subs restaurants are still open, one on Sharkey Way and one on Sand Lake Drive.

The closures in CenterCourt follow the closing in December of the Fazoli’s at Euclid and South Upper and the closing of Street Craves and Freakin’ Unbelievable Burgers on the corner of Limestone and Euclid in March.

In the CenterCourt suit, Owners Insurance Co. of Michigan has asked a judge to declare that “it owes no coverage” to the condo owners, according to court documents.

The insurance policy that the CenterCourt developer has does not include liability coverage for the claims made by the CenterCourt Condominium Owners Association, the insurance company contends.

This story was originally published August 24, 2017 at 10:51 AM with the headline "Restaurants close in condo building near UK. Smashburger, Firehouse Subs both gone.."