Facebook likes, kindness don’t pay the bills, say owners of just-closed Wichita restaurant
During its short time in business, The Foxhole Lounge at 6305 E. Harry had lots of kind supporters who tried to spread the word about it, and the owners met many customers who became friends.
But all that good will, though appreciated, couldn’t keep the business open. The lounge, a bar and grill that was friendly to veterans, is permanently closed as of Tuesday.
“A small group of people simply isn’t enough to support a business, and even though we appreciate the number of well wishes, Facebook likes, etc., those things do not pay the bills,” the owner’s wife and the lounge’s manager Kathy Schale said in a Facebook post on Wednesday.
The business originally opened in the former Annex Lounge space on the Fourth of July last year, and it was billed as a veterans lounge. Owner Steve Field is an army veteran, and he wanted to open a place where vets could get together and socialize.
A week later, he closed the doors and decided to wait for his liquor license to get the business going in earnest. In the meantime, he changed the name to The Foxhole Lounge, worried that people thought it was only for veterans, and adjusted the menu to focus on burgers.
He also added a crazy burger challenge that offered infamy to anyone who could eat his three-pound, foot-and-a-half tall burger and a pound of fries in one sitting.
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But it all got to be too much, Schale said in the post, and her husband was spending 18 hours a day, six or seven day a week at the place. He couldn’t keep it up any longer, she said.
Schale finished the post by thanking all the people she and her husband met and served during their seven months in business.
“We were never the cool poppin’ hot spot in town, nor did we aspire to be,” she wrote. “But without a doubt, we were a place where people found acceptance and good things could happen.”
This story was originally published February 12, 2020 at 3:28 PM.
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