The developer is in the building business not the restaurant business.

Funny..that’s what we saw EVERY time we were there when it was on the first floor. The food was much better when it moved upstairs.

Not going to happen. That ended when the developers decided there was more profit it apartments and real estate than in the restaurant business. For those of you who have been here a while you probably remember the nice deli that use to be in the sales center in Sumter Landing which is now Panera’s. It was a great little place to have lunch. I understand the developers motivation but what they lost sight of was keeping those things that made The Villages truly unique and those things will never return.

I have a hard time believing those businesses were not profitable. I would go there on average 3-4 times a month and they were always packed. Most of the shows were always sold out. So it was not the lack of business but maybe poor management or the developers just figured there was more money and less work in apartments than in the restaurant business.

Why do we have a burden to show they didnt make a profit? Remember the developer can either make this a loss leader or go in another direction and they choose what is in their best interest.

We were not here when it was opened so no idea if it was good or bad. The comment that villagers bought one drink and nursed it for hours so they lost money is silly. All a business has to do is put in a minimum purchase and that problem is solved very quickly.

It is the concept of a dinner theater or dinner/dancing that was the alure and great amenity.

However you can only see Dunning/Shaw and Rocky/Rollers just so many times.

Back in the old days where I lived we had a dinner/dancing venue that featured a Band Leader that produced a different show/theme each month.

GlennView Country Club has tried to do some dinner shows with the Old Katie Bell entertainers.

We always took first time visitors to Katie Belle's...the food was equal to the value you paid...and it was a nice intro to 'life in the bubble'

there was a story going around that the owner was the husband of one of the Morse girls and they were getting a divorce... if that was truly the situation, any subsidy money from 'the family' that may have been keeping it afloat would have been coming to an end

who knows, unless you were an insider, it's all speculation ...

it was a special place and there should have been a line outside waiting to get in, but there never was

Will not reopen

I have often heard that they lost money because people would sit there for hours and nurse one beer or glass of water forever and hog the tables. If that was the case then the new food-court style "Market" at Sawgrass Grove is in trouble.

But why was this a problem? No other restaurant in Spanish Springs would allow this. Seems like the management could have discouraged this problematic activity.

We loved Katie Belle's! We ate there many times - sometimes at lunch for the atmosphere, food, and music! It was beautiful! Attended many dinner shows there. Every time we had visitors, you can be sure that was a destination!! Brunch on Sundays - delightful! We really miss it! Wish they could bring KB back, but not in the South- we need something new in Spanish Springs! The Villages does such a wonderful job making sure everything is beautiful! It seems so much more attention is given to the Fenney area! Pay attention to the Northern section of The Villages!!!

IMHO KB's was utilized as a sales tool in the early days, drawing people to purchase in TV as "members only" entertainment, drinking, dancing and dining would be nearby at Spanish Springs. As new developments were being built further and further south it became a bit of a trek in a golf cart to get to KB's so it was not as much a draw.

I just read whebuilding is located.re The Villages just applied for a permit to put in 7 apartments where the old KatieBells building is located in Spanish Springs. I understood the council declined that request about a year or so ago.

You cannot unscramble the egg.
Kinda reminds me of The Pink Pony in Scottsdale, Az. It was PINK. Spring training. Sawdust on the floor. Spring training games on the radio one could hear the individual fans in the stands shouting. It's all gone upscale with tickets going for $40. The Pink Pony is now upscale-no longer even Pink. People used to park their horses outside.

It's all because the whole town is now upscale.
You have to change with the times I'm sad to say.

This subject is as old as dog poop. Not once has one offered up proof KB's wasn't making a profit including this entire thread so far. Just post an announcement by the Morse's or some TV department stating such.

In stead we keep posting "hearsay" about Villagers drinking water causing the closure. Well if that is true the same Villagers still live here so how is anyone else going to make a profit ?

The Sharon Morse performing Arts Centered opened in 2015, Guess when Katie Belle's closed and moved upstairs - right 2015.

I totally agree The Morse's can do whatever they please and do not have to answer to us. It very well could be they wanted to put something in that was more profitable with less work then the previous venue But stop putting the blame on The Villagers. People are posting like they know the answer. Most of them never stepped foot in the old KB's - hearsay !

The only exception I have to my statement about the developer is free to do as they please could possibly be a verbal contract (if you want to call it that) may have been broken. In the early to mid 2000's time frame the first word out of you sales rep mouth was "and here is Katie Belle's, the flagship of The Villages. It is an exclusive residents only club." But the flip side of the coin is no reason they can't do the same with the town squares. For you newer people wasn't those squares part of the sales pitch ?

I went their several times for lunch over the last few years before it closed and it was always dead. It may have been packed in the early years before I got here but it was going downhill toward the end.

I always found it a hoot that people considered it a "private club" for 100,000 people.

People stood in line, then ordered a dinner to share and hogged the table all night ordering maybe one drink, that's how.

"We will stop building at 466A" "We will definitely stop at 44"

City Fire!

Near did get to KB's in the 5 years living here, How where their prices?

Truth is,
 

Asking if they will ever bring back Katie Belles is like asking if Rudolph Valentino will ever make another movie.

Times change. And sometimes they may even change for the better. Sometimes they don't.

Umm.
 

Are you sure "she" was a lady?
😯😯😯

Your (not sarcastic) suggestion is antithetical to the concept of retirement.

But, as far as making a profit, and I was never in Katie Belles, if they were making a profit, it must not have been enough of a profit to justify the work, and/or the use of real estate that could be more profitably used in another manner.

Businesses seldom disappear because they are too profitable.

Change.....
 

Kind of ironic..... the one thing most people have a problem with as they age, is "change". So, we retire, move to an area with all these amenities "promised", expecting it to never change.

The first restaurant I visited in the Villages, in the late 90's, was Silver Lake. It was a great restaurant on the historic side. Really good food. Whoops.... closed.

Next was Chula Vista. We ate there several times a week, food was great. Dancing nightly, ballroom type and good dancers. Whoops, closed.

Big draw for prospective buyers.... the indoor heated pool at the Sharon Morse building, great for aging bones, lol. Whoops, closed..... needed more office space???

Little restaurant in Santiago, at golf course, Jimmy Buffett style entertainment... great food, lively crowd,always jammed.... Whoops, closed.

Katie Bell's experienced many changes during its time in an effort to keep it going. I never really cared for the place, didn't spend much time there, but many people did. But, in the end..... another whoops.

Hacienda Hills CC restaurant, more upscale (?) for TV... dress code, shirts, ties, etc. Then, more relaxed (no dress code), Very popular place for dining and dancing.... Whoops, closed.

The Church on the Square... then changed to The Sharon.... what's next there?
Savannah Center used to be very popular for entertainment, think most of that moved to The Sharon.

Tierra Del Sol, thank goodness has survived, though many changes with same, but thank goodness they did not close that one.

Yes, I do understand that change is inevitable but that does not mean I have to like it much. All the things that drew those of us here in the 1990s, early 2000s, have gone slowly by the wayside. As many of us have, who moved here back then.

What I do understand is that the age group that is looking at The Villages now is far removed from what our age group was looking for. And I believe the "family" is well aware of this, as they are in that age group, and going forward will be catering to a much different outlook and lifestyle.

We have a choice.... embrace it and go with the flow or reject it, lay back, relax and relive the memories of "the good old days". At 84.... I choose to lay back and relax and enjoy whatever time I have left rather than get all worked up over something I have no control over.

Katie Belles Latest Take away as well a Silver Lake Club, Palm Tiki bar at OB, Hacien
 

Well, it seems the historic end of The Villages keeps getting their home sales incentives of 30 years ago taken away; Katie Belles, Silver Lake Club, Palm Tiki bar at OB, Hacienda Country Club, Realto Theater, bowling soon, etc. A thank you from the 3rd gen of Morse's.

Oh she was no lady:bigbow:

Katue Belles closed because it was a moneypit.

Thank you.
 

Inquiring minds wanted to know. Now we do.
Thank you.

Deja vu. All over again.
 

that's the story i always heard since i started coming to tv over 20 years ago
to be frank certain nights were m/f cougar
scenarios.

Was it just fantasy??
 

Ah! The good old days. 😁😁😁

Katie Belle's
 

Was a loss leader and a great one, with this area now built out if it was still in operation
am sure the residents at Brownwood would want one there, only larger, but as long as they can sell the houses without that expense there, it is not going to happen.

I wish they had tried to adjust the hours to being open only 4 nites/days/wk with a DJ instead of a band every hour open! They could hire a band on Friday & Saturday nites. However, I too feel if they hadn’t messed with the remodel to begin with, it might still be a success. Our guests always had a great time & the food/service was over all pretty good! It helped to sell The Villages to our guests! Being there always gave you a special feeling of being a part of a glamorous life style! Why not have tried fewer hours first & let Villagers know they needed our support!

Here 17 years and sure miss Katie Belles. Please bring it back!

Sorry.
 

My guess, it ain't gonna happen. Time to find someplace else to enjoy.

Over the holidays we would take our guests to the holiday countdown at the church on the square (admission = can food for the food pantry), then stop at the square and catch a set (HH 2 for 1) and wind up the night with dinner and entertainment at Katie Belle's. Sharing our entrees and sipping water made for a very affordable evening. Nowadays I ask my guests would you like to go to our performing arts center. They inquire what's there ? I answer if we are lucky maybe the high school choir but primarily tribute bands and practicing students of the arts.

Gad Zooks! How the mighty have fallen.
 

😂😂😂😂

Having been there several times a week for many years with several other couples > We never saw or even hinted this was this going on. Don't believe it > Again where did they go "Blue fin, Chop House, etc where????

For the poster who wondered how can they be busy and not make a profit...

Methinks he was not being serious...

No.