The Willows Restaurant has closed its doors after nearly two-and-a-half years of operation under new ownership, extensive remodeling and the introduction of local, seasonal fare.
Owner Maryanne Cole told The Era Monday that all of their efforts just weren’t enough.
“I suspect it was the location. Just people didn’t want to drive this far out,” Cole said of the restaurant at 2669 West Washington St., about nine miles outside of the City of Bradford. “Business was getting slower and (we) just had to make the decision.”
She said it was a tough decision to make and she is sad to see the business shut down. According to Cole, it became apparent to her a few weeks ago that closure was the only option.
Cole said the restaurant did attract customers from as far away as Warren and Jamestown, N.Y., but it needed a larger amount of people eating there “every single day” to make it work.
“You have to do very high volume to make a restaurant like this work. It’s very expensive to run, and we just weren’t able to do it,” she explained. “Business just dropped off too much to keep going.”
Looking back, she wonders if a less expensive menu may have helped.
“We had some really good food here, but maybe it would be better just to serve bar food?” she questioned. “It seems like all the restaurants around here have the same food, and now I know why — that’s what people around here like to eat.”
Saturday was the restaurant’s last official day of operation, but it will serve food once again on Sunday for the Kinzua Outdoor Kids Fishing Tournament, according to Cole.
She is very grateful for the run they had with the restaurant and to her customers over the years.
“It was fun, I really enjoyed doing this,” Cole said. “I’ll miss everyone, our customers and friends. I want to thank everyone for their support. We’ll always cherish the memories that we made here.”
Cole purchased the business with her brother Tom Cole and their friend Anthony Chirillo from Yvonne Hull in early 2013. The business opened under their ownership in March of that year and subsequently underwent extensive renovations that included new ceilings, carpet, waitress station, a wood-fired grill and more.
Cole meets with real estate agent Kathy Obermeyer this morning to go over an appraisal and come up with a price for the sale of the business. Anyone interested in potential purchase should contact Obermeyer at 814-366-5506.
