JoCo cafe couldn’t come to terms on new lease. Now its fans are lambasting the landlord

Western Shawnee’s Country Club Cafe, which opened nearly two decades ago, will shut its doors for now, but the tenant says it is not for lack of business.

The cafe, at 21911 W. 66th St. inside Country Club Bank, plans to close on Dec. 19, according to a post on its Facebook page: “Through the past few days we have been hit with an abundant amount of support from our community. ... We understand the community is hurting and are feeling the drive to defend us. We too are hurting and we have no problem with holding people accountable.”

They said their landlord, Country Club Bank, has “walked through this pandemic with us,” but is now making requests that became too much for them to keep up with. They plan to look for a new space, according to the post.

Bethany Vogel, tenant/operator, declined to comment.

Country Club Bank and its cafe opened nearly 20 years ago in the Shawnee spot.

The cafe has had different tenant/operators over the years, according to bank officials, and has been on a month-to-month lease at reduced rent for more than two years (pre-pandemic).

“We opened the cafe as a friendly, neighborhood community gathering space,” said Mary O’Connor, executive vice president of Country Club Bank. “We want her to stay and offered a preferred term lease. The bank is disappointed not to have Bethany Vogel as the tenant/operator.”

The cafe’s Facebook post has garnered more than 60 comments including:

▪ “Such sad news!! I have loved going there since we moved out here 14 years ago. I’m going to miss seeing Liz and Bethany and Babs and the other kind folks who have served me there, as well as the lattes and the quiche.”

▪ “I loved bringing out of town guests to enjoy brunch there. You will be so missed!!!”

▪ “I’m so sad! The rollover is an institution in our house. And the warm and welcoming people are the best. I will hope and pray for a new location in the near future.”

Some have taken to the Country Club Bank’s Facebook page to complain:

▪ “I will never do business with this bank. Ever.”

▪ “What a joke. If you truly supported small businesses you would not be forcing the closure of our only locally owned coffee shop in Western Shawnee.”

But the bank wants to keep a cafe in the space and will look for a new tenant.

This story was originally published December 1, 2021 at 3:26 PM.