Local cafes shut down, group aims to find new owners
By Alyssa Schafer
Two of Underwood’s most popular meeting places are out of order, but community leaders are working together to revive the city’s restaurants. BobKat’s Café closed its doors recently, after weeks of odd opening times and uncertainty. BobKat’s is the second café to cease operations this year. Underwood’s only other restaurant, Grandma’s Place, closed its doors April 1. Becky Bowen of the Underwood Area Economic Development Corporation is leading an effort to find new owners for the restaurants so one or both can be reopened soon. Having a café is important to the success of Underwood and its businesses, Bowen said, because it draws traffic from Highway 83 into the city and it encourages Underwood citizens to eat locally. "I’m optimistic that both of the restaurants will reopen soon," she said. Bowen said one of the options that might be explored is sharing business hours between the two restaurants, with one taking certain shifts or days and the other filling in the gaps.
