Bob and Lisa Nelson stand outside Ole Barn BBQ in December 2011 after they opened it. Ole Barn closed Monday, along with Oak Park Mall's other restaurant, J&K Restaurant. -- Herald file photo

Ole Barn BBQ, J&K both close

Published 11:58pm Wednesday, October 17, 2012
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Oak Park Mall loses both restaurants Monday, along with arcade

On Monday, Oak Park Mall went from two restaurants to none.

The Ole Barn BBQ closed Sunday after several months of breaking even financially, according to its owner, Bob Nelson, and J&K Restaurant closed Sunday as well. Ole Barn opened in December 2011 and J&K opened in May.

Nelson said they were breaking even month after month, and at some point, he had to pull the plug.

“We invested a substantial amount of money into the mall, and we needed support from the community,” he said.

Nelson said the Austin community really likes its fast food, and it’s hard for sit down restaurants like his.

“We have to support our local businesses. If we don’t, we’re going to lose them,” he said. “All they’re going to be left with is McDonald’s and other fast food chains.”

Nelson said he hopes to open somewhere else, but doesn’t think it will be in Austin. He said he is looking at larger cities like Mankato or somewhere near the Twin Cities.

The Machine Shed arcade, also owned by Nelson and attached to Ole Barn, will close, along with the Ole Barn Country Store, a shop inside the restaurant with chocolates and canned barbecue sauce. Nelson’s other businesses, Restaurant Warehouse and Kitchen Warehouse, will stay open, and he will use them to sell his equipment from the restaurant.

J&K’s owner, Manny Taredes, was not immediately available for comment.

Shan Kehret, marketing manager for the mall, said this is a big loss for the mall.

“It’s very unfortunate that they closed,” she said. “I hate to see anybody lose jobs, and it’s sad to see them leave. They were a great asset to Oak Park Mall.”

There is good news for the mall, though.

Kehret said while the restaurants and arcade are closing, refurbished furniture store Willow Cove opened last week, jewelry shop Piece by Piece plans to open in November, and three other openings are pending. The mall’s movie theater, CineMagic 7, is also switching from analog projection to digital this week. The theater will stay open during the process.

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  • cooper

    It was just a matter of time. The mall is a dead horse that no one wants to go to. What ever happened to fixing the parking lot.

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  • ipkiss

    I agree, I think the parking lot is a huge problem and deters people from going to the mall. The mall owners need to lower the rent for businesses and fix the parking lot, not blame the lack of business at the mall on the people in the community. I grew up in Austin and the mall was thriving, it’s sad to see the way it is now.

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  • Gatsby

    Mr. Nelson, stop blaming the community. The service in your restaurant was horrible and the BBQ was over seasoned. Mostly it was the horrible service, though.

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  • factchecker

    the food & service was ok…the thing that kept us from going back was sitting on wooden benches with no back rest. not what i would call a nice sit down resturant. yes, mcdonalds has more comfortable seating.

    oh…and the parking lot…what else can be said. so sad.

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  • austin185

    Mr. Nelson wasn’t blaming the community, just making an observation. Let’s do a quick 5 year review. Maybe the Bamboo Hut served water that was too cold? or Paul’s seafood had too little beef in their burgers. Maybe Johnny’s served too many pancakes, or Savory Skillet had dirty windows? Or it could be that Jerry’s Other Place had cold coffee, Or it could have been that Ruby’s Place booths were too comfortable?? ( bench comment) maybe Tolly’s steaks had to much salt? or it could be that Home Plate’s french fries were too salty. Or maybe Lansing corners server’s were too slow. So what’s your hurry!! ( fast food comment here )the point is excuses don’t matter.

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  • austin185

    If the excuse is the parking lot that’s just crazy! many people commented at Vision 20/20 that something needed to be done with the mall. Maybe residents should demand the powers that be offer low interest loans?? We’ve given hundreds of thousands of dollars to the downtown, and it looks awesome i might add, but perhaps it’s time to invest in the retail area of town. If the goal is to spur the economic growth of austin, shouldn’t we invest in the area were massive sales take place? More sales and taxes happen per day in the retail sector than take place in 6 months downtown. That’s a fact folks, sorry.

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  • formeraustinian

    I went to the Ole Barn BBQ once. I didn’t like having to sit on benches and eat with plastic utensils and food served in baskets. If I’m sitting down for a meal in a restaurant, I want real utensils, real plates and chairs with backs. The food wasn’t that good and the sides that we chose were exceptionally small in size. Not sure about the other businesses that were at that same location, but this one was a like a sit-down-fast-food shop. And we won’t mention the wait staff issues….

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  • prsgrl

    The mall needs to be flattened and rebuilt into something that is appealing to shop in and has a good variety of stores. And maybe then they would actually repave the parking lot instead of simply continuing to “review” the parking lot issue. It’s not rocket science.

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  • smalltownguy

    I stopped at your place twice and was not impressed. Service was very bad. Food was sub par! I had brisket once. For one ya need to learn how to slice a brisket cut. Clue is not with the grain. Now I am not being smart. i have been in the food industry for 30 years. I have seen so many open doors and put a menu on the table and think your going to make big bucks! WRONG! It takes service! It takes someting for people to remember you by. Sorry you di not have one of them. Dont blame fast food. Stop in at the Cafe in Brownsdale! This place has first class service. Awesome food! I have been there 2 dozen times and its a 60 mile round trip for me. So dont go off on McDonalds. If theres a reason to come they will. You just dont get it sir!

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