Coyote Creek Café is out of business

Employees of Coyote Creek Café - some of whom had worked at the restaurant for the better part of two decades - gathered Thursday morning at the restaurant, seeking final paychecks.

Restaurant operating partner Eric Metzel abruptly closed the restaurant Wednesday, November 4, leaving patrons and employees alike more than a little

surprised.

A sign on the front door read: Due to circumstances beyond our control we have had to close; we would like to thank you for your loyalty and patronage.

"This was a very painful, yet necessary decision," said Metzel. "We did everything to keep the Coyote Creek Café open for as long as we could, but in the end, because fewer people are traveling and fewer people are eating out, we didn't have enough business to weather the economic situation."

On Thursday morning, veterans who meet regularly at Coyote Creek for Thursday breakfast were turned away with apologies.

"You're closing down for good?" one veteran asked.. "Well, that's too bad."

Longtime patron Art Barker expressed sadness both for the community and the 25 employees who lost their jobs.

"Sisters has lost a whole lot if we've lost that place," he said. "We're doing all this work to bring in business, but we've got to take care of what we've

got."

Helmut Junge, owner of the Three Wind Shopping Center, was planning to change the locks on the building and advertise it for lease. Though he acknowledged that now is not the best time to be leasing a restaurant building, he has hopes that a revitalized shopping center will attract a new tenant in relatively short order.

"With Bi-Mart here and the Dollar Store here, I've been getting quite a few requests for leasing again," Junge said.

Employees and friends hugged each other and exchanged bits of gallows humor. No one wanted to talk about the closure on the record.

"It's too sad," said one woman. "Even for people who used to work here it's sad."

Coyote Creek Café employed 25 people and was a licensee of the Abby's Legendary Pizza chain.

"We are thankful for the tight-knit family of employees who went above and beyond to make Coyote Creek Café successful, and we are particularly grateful for our loyal customers, who were a privilege to serve," Metzel said.

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.

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