Stone Bowl, the Korean and Japanese restaurant at 3355 Madison Road in Oakley, served its last meal Aug. 16, ending a 12-year run next door to MadTree Brewing.

Owners Young Park and Misook Gwon announced the closure on Facebook that day, saying a job relocation forced the decision. Gwon accepted a position in another state roughly four years ago, and the couple had been living apart since.

"We did our best to make it work, but now the time has come for us to close this chapter, reunite our family, and begin the next one together," the couple wrote in a letter posted to the restaurant's Facebook page, as reported by FOX19.

Park and Gwon opened Stone Bowl in 2014, taking over the former Great Scott restaurant space in a German half-timbered Tudor-style building on Madison Road. They lived upstairs with their young family while converting the space into a Korean dining room and sushi bar, according to Hoodline. The couple raised two children at the location, the Cincinnati Business Courier reported.

The restaurant's namesake dish was bibimbap served in a stone pot heated to 450 degrees, layering rice with a sunny-side-up egg, mixed vegetables and a choice of protein. The menu also featured ramen, sushi and bento boxes.

Stone Bowl survived the COVID-19 pandemic by shifting to carry-out only in December 2020, trimming its offerings to karai ramen, stir-fried udon teriyaki and sushi. In their farewell post, Park and Gwon credited the Oakley community with keeping the restaurant alive during that stretch.

It wasn't just a business. The couple's letter thanked customers who "walked through our doors, shared a meal with us, brought your family and friends" and "sometimes simply treated our restaurant as a second home," according to WLWT.

The closure adds to a string of independent restaurant departures along the Madison Road corridor. Red Feather Kitchen shut down after 11 years in December 2024, and Rooted Juicery left its Oakley storefront in July 2026. Meanwhile, chain concepts have moved in: Mediterranean fast-casual CAVA opened at 3356 Madison Road in 2026, steps from Stone Bowl's former address.

No tenant has been announced for the 3355 Madison Road building.