CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – Several businesses have announced they are closing their doors in Clarksville over the last few weeks, with most of them citing economic conditions for throwing in the towel.
Local shops and restaurants, including some larger companies such as Dairy Queen, and smaller operations like Dream Wingz, have announced plans to either consolidate or close their brick and mortar locations.
Gladiator Brewing
Gladiator Brewing announced in August they would be open for the last time on Sept. 11. The business has been in operation for over four years and is run by founder and veteran James G. Pradke and his wife Funda.
Pradke said there are several reasons the business is closing, but the most notable is inflation.
“Our suppliers have increased the cost of goods. Our grain prices have increased by 16%. Our gas prices for carbon dioxide to carbonate the beer has increased by 16.2%. Our credit card processor is increasing its prices by 6% plus 30 cents on every single dollar we make. By the end, what do you pay rent with?”
Pradke said the business lost a significant amount of revenue during the pandemic and has had difficulty returning to pre-pandemic numbers.
“Imagine a small business is told they’re not able to operate. The small businesses have to close their doors for however many months. I think we were closed for like three months. You’re still paying electric, the electric guys are still collecting their money, the water guys are still collecting their money, the lease holder is still collecting his money, so where does that money come from? So a lot of my personal income went towards keeping us sustained and alive during that time. We’re just out of working capital.”
Pradke explained his ongoing health issues are another reason for closing. He said he will take some time to focus on healing and spending time with family.
Dream Wingz
Dream Wingz announced in a Facebook post Tuesday that they would be closing their Fort Campbell/Oak Grove location. Owner/operator Matthew Burns told Clarksville Now one of their issues is a hefty fine from the City of Oak Grove, Kentucky. He noted they had paid an individual to put up a new sign for the business, but no permit was ever filed with the city.
“The city (of Oak Grove) decided that because I didn’t pull a permit in between that time that I owed them $6,000 in fines. In order to try and make me pay those fines, they decided to turn off the water, even though there was no water bill due,” Burns said, noting that water was shut off for over a week, resulting in a net loss of about $12,000 to $16,000.
The Oak Grove Utility Department told Clarksville Now the water was shut off, but said it was for lack of payment on a water bill.
Other reasons for the closure, Burns claims, include staffing issues and economic factors. Burns noted that inflation hit the restaurant hardest during the COVID-19 pandemic and that even with overwhelming support from the community, it has been extremely hard.
“By the time we sold wings, we gave up the profit margin and just sold food at a price we could pay the bills,” said Burns. “Chicken went from being $70 a case when we first got into the game in May 2020 to being $150 a case. It grew that much within, like, eight months. Fish grew almost two times the price, oil grew one third of the price, and fries grew almost double the price. Aluminum foil grew at double its price.”
Burns noted that the Dream Wingz Sango location is still open, but it will be closing soon as well. He says he plans to consolidate the restaurants and move to one spot on Tiny Town Road, pending a leasing agreement.
The Axe Throwing Place
The Axe Throwing Place has been slinging axes in Clarksville since 2019. The business was started by Henry and Sandra Walker, who are both retired from the US Navy. The couple announced this week that they were closing.
“It’s the economy. People just aren’t coming out and spending money. There’s really no other issue other than if I’m not making money, I can’t pay bills. If I can’t pay bills, I can’t stay open,” Henry Walker told Clarksville Now.
Walker said he has no issues with supplies or hiring – there’s just not enough foot traffic.
“We never had issues with employees, we were never without employees, and we never had a hard time hiring anybody. Ours just came down to straight economic reasons,” Walker said.
The last day for throwing axes will be Friday, Sept. 30, and they will be open every weekend until then. There are also plans to have a final league tournament for all interested league members.
Whitt’s Barbecue
Whitt’s Barbecue started with one location in 1978, in Athens, Alabama, and now manages over a dozen locations across the South. Unfortunately, the Clarksville location has now closed its doors.
Clarksville Now has reached out to local owner Jeff Plank for comment.
Two other Whitt’s locations have also closed in Tennessee this year, according to a post on the company’s Facebook page.
Dairy Queen on Wilma Rudolph
On Aug. 31, the Dairy Queen at 2900 Wilma Rudolph Blvd. announced they would close that location effective 10 p.m. that evening.
The company said in a Facebook post they had consolidated the business with the Dairy Queen location at 1055 S. Riverside Drive.
O’Connor’s Irish Pub and Grill
The popular Clarksville nightclub O’Connor’s Irish Pub announced last month they would close their doors on Aug. 28. O’Connor’s, located at 1198 Tylertown Road, had been doing business in the community for about 15 years.
In the comments section on the Facebook post, owner Greg Parbs said, “It’s just time to retire and move on. We appreciate the memories! ”
Clarksville Now has reached out to Parbs for comment.