LINN  —  BJ’s Restaurant & Lounge Linn will close its doors on June 28, ending a legacy that began in 1985, and owner Scot Drinkard, who purchased the business from Dale Jaegers in 2020.

“I apologize to the community,” said Drinkard, who owns more than 20 businesses in multiple states. “This is not what we wanted to do, but at this point, it’s time to stop the bleeding. I take this to heart. I feel like I failed but not for a lack of trying.”

In late 2019, during talks with Jaegers about buying the business, Drinkard said that, like all his other ventures, he planned to operate BJ’s as a family business and looked forward to the opportunity to get to know people in Osage County.

“I am not looking to ruffle any feathers,” said Drinkard then. “I want to come in and learn the community.”

COVID hit shortly after he assumed ownership in March 2020, and like all businesses during the pandemic, Drinkard battled the challenges of product availability and shipping. “We never really recovered,” he added. “Costs continued to go up, so we had to raise prices.”

Jaegers had this to say. “I hate this happened, but I sold Scot a thriving business. All they had to do was not change anything and take care of it. I helped them for a year, showing them what type of food the locals liked (meat potatoes gravy and a veggie), which was the staple. I felt when I left there should have been a chef to take my place. I had a lot of young kids working for me, and they were a great help, but I spent 90 percent of my time in the kitchen making sure the food came out right. My golden rule was, don’t cut the quantity or the quality, and I feel, in my opinion, they did both. I hate to say it, but in short, I guess all good things come to an end. I thank each and every one of you for making BJ’s what it was. It may be leaving soon but I hope, not forgotten.”

During the pandemic, Drinkard said he met with vendors and suppliers to find a way to ease the difficulties and met weekly with the managers of his businesses to discuss strategies.

“We tried to stay on top of things,” he said. “Some of our product was bad, like lettuce at times. We also went through a period where we couldn’t get potatoes. Everyone felt the pressure of supply chain issues.”

Labor costs remained the same at the start of COVID, but Drinkard wanted to do more for his workers. “About eight months into the pandemic, we gave every employee a dollar-an-hour raise to thank them for staying with us through that difficult time,” he said. “We wanted to show that we appreciated them.”

He also paid for health insurance and vacations for managers.

At the same time, Drinkard invested in a computer system for inventory and order entries and tablets for servers to use at the table. “We wanted to improve the experience by bringing BJ’s into the modern time,” he said.

Drinkard also installed new carpeting and repainted the restaurant interior.

He also invested about $200,000 to bring kitchen appliances up to date and another $500,000 to renovate the building next door and create BJ’s Sports Bar. “We thought the community would support the bar, but it wasn’t as busy as we’d hoped,” said Drinkard, who owned a pizza company that supplied BJ’s so people could order there. He sold that company, which affected his ability to provide pizza.

Many people in the community took to social media to offer opinions on the matter, and several blamed the decline in sales on higher prices for smaller portions, and some thought service had been poor.

“It’s hurtful to read those comments, but I respect people’s opinions,” said Drinkard. “This is a tough industry; five years ago, supply costs were about 30 percent less. You try to maintain your costs, and raising prices is a part of that. However, we made only minimal changes to our portions. We tried to be consistent and structure everything to make it work.”

Drinkard added that he donated scraps every day to Where Pigs Fly. “That was food customers didn’t eat,” he said.

Drinkard added that to be successful in the food industry, food costs should be at or below 35%, and labor should be about 25%, leaving 35% for overhead and 5% in profit. “Unfortunately, we saw about 75% of our income going to food and labor, which isn’t tenable.”

In a smaller, rural market, higher costs hit harder, Drinkard added. “You don’t have the same buying power as chains, and that played a role,” he said. “You can get a box of cereal at a grocery store cheaper than at a mom-and-pop store because the grocery store can buy in bulk. It’s the same thing with restaurants.”

Several staff members have been there for many years, and Drinkard said all have been great. “Employees, managers, and I put our hearts into BJ’s and tried to make it a great restaurant,” he added. “Closing it is tough to swallow.”

Drinkard said he understands that his 30 employees are upset. “I’m embarrassed and feel bad,” he noted. “This is the first time in 30 years of business I’ve had to close one. I know it’s going to put my employees in a bind, and I am looking at doing something to help.”

Drinkard said he is considering options based on what his finances will allow but did not commit to a plan. “I want this to be as gentle as possible and a soft landing for my employees,” he said. “They’re like family, and I’m sorry it’s come to this.”

BJ’s Restaurant & Lounge was founded by Bud and Martha Jaegers in 1985 and sold to their son, Dale Jaegers, in 1997.

The restaurant will continue to operate during its usual hours through June 28.