I miss the Old Katie Belles
 

I miss the “Old Katie Belles”. When we had guests we always went there for a meal and the entertainment. Katie Belles was for residents and their guests only. It was important to have a place like that in The Villages IMHO. Yes, it needed some fresh paint and makeover but the concept was “right on”. Many people I know felt it was a special place for just us, the residents, of The Villages. Unfortunately it’s gone and like a fast moving stream the flow that passes by will never pass again. I usually embrace change but not this one.

I totally agree. I have fond memories of Katie Belles.

Just did not make it economically for a number of reasons.

But, it was truly special.

Actually, miss Hacienda Hills Country Club as well, was the only place with a “dress code” (coat and tie for gentlemen)

I loved it!

So many of the favorites have been taken away & personally, those favorites could have & should have been kept in operation. I feel fortunate to have lived here long enough to have many great memories. Unfortunately the higher ups call the shots & most of the time the residents have no say!

I miss Katie Bell's too.

And $2 Tuesdays at Church on the Square too. We saw some really good entertainment there.

Somehow, it's all about $$$$, all the time.
We won't even go into tearing down rec centers to build apartments

What you miss were not profitable.
No entitlements.

In my mind this is a myth that keeps getting perpetuated. Anyone have proof from the Developers themselves that red ink drove closure ? Can you point to the "evening with the developer" or the Villages Sun article that declared this. If this were true how is it that any restaurant in The Square can make money when the Developers who carry the least amount of overhead could not. I have a totally different theory why KB closed. Anyone else ?

:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:
Yep, it was making money and TV decided to close it......"we don't want the cashflow".
Let's close it and get no cashflow.
Let's close it and invest millions to make apartments and HOPE we get our cash back.
Yep, just a myth.

:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

FYI Cash flow and profit are not equivalent.
Profit is the revenue remaining after deducting business costs, while cash flow is the amount of money flowing in and out of a business at any given time.

:bigbow:

Please >> Bring back Katie Belles - It was unique and a real + for The Villages. Can't believe its gone and hasn't come back. Perhaps we need to form a protest march (right after my knee surgery and if I can fit it in between my other Dr apts ).

I miss Cattle Baron. It was a go to restaurant for out of town company. Like
taking them to a private club.

As I remember, Katie Belles was totally remodeled ($$$$$$), opened to all, and then closed. You spend all that money, and close to build apartments? Wait, that was turned down by the city of Lady Lake, Anyway, Katie Belles was unique and The Villages marches on. So be it.

...

Katie Belles had a problem.

So many coming, one or two drinks, and sit all night watching the performers.

Economically, a restaurant cannot survive like that

Private club
 

There's still a private club in The Villages. The Angler's Club. But you can't go there unless you are family, friends, associates or politically influential chums of the developer. I wonder if it is profitable. I doubt whether he cares.

I had dinner there and the food was excellent. A monthly fee to be a member.

I am not saying this didn't happen however if this was the real issue why would they simply not institute a minimum spend policy. Instead they closed down half of it, spent the money to revamp on the second floor of a senior citizen community and then use the same model ? It still has a stage, a dance floor, but more a restaurant than "saloon" . Again wouldn't minimum spend accomplish the same with twice space and capacity. KB's never lacked for drawing a crowd. Many nights there was a line to get in. The entertainment is/was the same performers as when the stage was downstairs. More than meets the eye here. Me thinks they were setting up for closure but had to deal with their own personal quilt of closing Harold's pride and joy named after his mother. I also believe H. Gary Morse would never allowed for the closure also.

Let's try this as a starting point:
- Didn't fit with the atmosphere/clientele they thought The Sharon was going to draw I.E. upscale dinning.
- Too many restaurants in The Square were competing for good wait staff. Thus The Developers were the competition of other businesses they were charging rent. All were beginning to lose.
- Lack of dependable / quality staffing was causing high turnaround and the drug trafficking started to increase.
- The Developers simply lost interest as they have with other items throughout the years (which is their right- it's their kingdom). The profit simply wasn't worth the headaches.

Other theories exist. BUT I don't fall for this it was because the patrons were drinking water. That's putting the blame on us and that's BS. We, the same patrons are still living here.

So, tell me. Can anybody join if the can afford the monthly fee?

You need to be invited by a Morse or a local business owner. I wish I could join the food and service were excellent. Interestinfact no prices on the menu.

The original KB's was a well designed club that was run right for a long time. I am aware that some people would spend time there sipping on a glass of water and literally buying nothing. If folks don't spend at a club it folds.

KB's reminded me of a club in my old home town where I spent a lot of time (and money). They had good house bands, ladies night a couple days a week and brought in some top bands. Men always paid a cover charge. The place opened at 5:00 p.m., ran a two for one happy hour until 7:00 p.m., and was always filled and so popular the owners eventually bought the land next door and built a new much larger club using the same floor plan but greatly expanded. They tore down the old building and used that land for parking. They maybe had two acres of parking at this point. This club was a success for fifty years.

This video shows the layout. While a latin band is playing in the video the Caravan East was primarily a country-western venue. Caravan East Night Club in Albuquerque, Features Live Music by Severoy Grupo Fuego on Vimeo

The neighborhood changed over the years and became so rough the locals started calling it the "war zone". That is likely why they closed. It became unsafe to even drive in the neighborhood, especially at night.

Developers develop.


Once developed, if profitable developers tend to sell off and go onto the next project.
There are not many who want to be in the retail business, the bar business, the restaurant business..................mostly when (say) half of the population is season.


:icon_wink:

They could have fixed that in two seconds flat. Institute a minimum that would allow them to make money.

It's their money, their property and none of our business how they spend THEIR money. What is so hard to understand about that?

People who were too cheap to buy a meal and some drinks to fund the operation of that venue definitely would be too cheap to pay a cover charge. They took advantage of the situation to their detriment.

Just like you said, its all theories (actually nothing but baseless guesses), nothing supported by fact. How many restaurants have you successfully operated?

None - I had enough smarts to make money in a much easier way.

Theory - Proof ?

Agree.
About the only place where minimum's work are country clubs.
(not many even work there)

They are a form of dues that creates volume for a food service operation to survive.

Agree

Instead they fixed it by spending a boatload of money remodeling and downsizing but keeping true to the same old formula. Something wrong with this picture !

Proof? The restaurant closed.

Why buy the meal and drinks when you can have a very inexpensive evening out.

Would have been very easy to experiment by putting in a minimum purchase but for some reason they were happy to let it fail.

Exactly - the same as my hypothesis which is not tied to the drinking water theory. But have you tested your null hypothesis theory. I have !

Stop assuming.

They did, as i recall, insist on patrons buying seperate tickets for the shows, and for a bit of time had a minimum. Did not work.

And keep in mind this is all against the backdrop of converting The Church on the Square into a theater right across the street at the same time. Also, I believe this may have been about the time they first purchased the land south of 466 which opened the flood gates for going south.

What you are saying was "easy" ignores a lot of happenings in the same time frame, along with ignoring the lack of customers.

But, they did experiment....did not work

I lived within walking distance of KB's for 5 plus years. I have many hours logged into KB's over the years. What many are claiming as the downfall (the place was full of water drinkers) is simply not true in my live experience. The majority of the time the kitchen staff could not keep up with demand. Are your claims first hand or hearsay ?

Anyone else remember the Chula Vista Rec Centre Sunday Brunch and the Silver Lake Club ?? We've been in TV since 1999 - 3 years renting then bought in CC Hills and boy Oh boy have we lost some stuff ..I also loved the Brewery in SS ...the 5 oz sampler was great - Main St. Bistro was also a fun place to go !! the list goes on !! stand by for more closures and more apartments.

Went to the new Mac's
 

We went to the new Mac's comedy club first night at Sumter. They had a ticket price and a minimum purchase. The food was marginal. Service was worse. BUT the comedy was 5 Star's all the way.

This was no substitute for KB

The Spanish Springs Brewery was a definitive thumbs up.

Then make sure you stop at the Bichara Bakery.

And more new stuff!