‘Economy has literally broke us’
A 124-year-old restaurant, one of Tennessee’s oldest, has announced plans to call it quits.
Teresa and Rollin Kellogg posted on social media plans to shutter their iconic and locally beloved City Cafe in Murfreesboro, citing the difficulties of operating in the current economy.
“It breaks our hearts to have to make this post but, this economy has literally broke us,” they wrote of their classic American diner. “We have tried so hard to stay ahead but, when you have more going out than coming in it catches up with you.”
Grant Woods takes the order for breakfast from Kristin Owen, Johnny Lane and Daniel Scobbey at the City Cafe, on Aug. 24, 2007.
It’s hard to run any business, they acknowledged, but small businesses present their unique challenges.
It breaks our hearts to have to make this post but, this economy has literally broke us. We have tried so hard to stay…
The Kelloggs aren’t alone. Among more than 600 independent restaurant operators surveyed by point-of-sale company TouchBistro, the overriding sentiment was that 2024 was “out of the ordinary,” with complicating factors including everything from wars to swine flu and increased food costs.
More: After a year of many Nashville restaurant closures, what’s on tap for 2025?
City Cafe waitress Staci Sewell, cleans up the drink station area near the end of the shift on Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2022, at the restaurant. City Cafe is closed on Mondays including during Labor Day.
But this closure is notable; 124 years covers a lot of ground. Indeed, the Kelloggs made a similar announcement in 2020, citing the pandemic, though the restaurant remained open after an outpouring of customer support.
“This has been our home away from home,” the Kelloggs said in their Jan. 23 post. “She is a part of our family and we have worked hard to make her a part of yours. 124 years, That’s a lot of history. Our dreams and goals were to keep it in our family for another 124…No one can foresee the future and no one knew our economy would be in the situation it is in now.”
Doug Bodary, left and Jeff Sandvig, right eat together at City Cafe like they do every Wednesday, on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2020. The restaurant is expecting to close its doors this Saturday due to the economic impact of COVID.
The Kelloggs plan to remain open until their restaurant’s inventory is depleted, but were starting to run out of food after a brisk breakfast service.
The person accepting calls at the restaurant said the family was not taking questions from the media.
Henry and Dorsey Cantrell launched City Cafe Feb. 10, 1900, at 11 South Side Public Square in Murfreesboro.
More: A glimpse inside City Cafe through the years
City Cafe waitress Cortney Adams brings the lunch orders to David Shumate and Cain Whidby not photographed on Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2022, at the downtown restaurant. Adams realizes that she had the orders reversed before placing them on the table. City Cafe is closed on Mondays including during Labor Day.
At the time, the Cantrells bottled the milk produced on their nearby dairy farm on a floor above the café, according to restaurant lore. After the milk production facility was relocated, that same floor became home to a “gambling and drinking venue,” according to the owners.
The restaurant has changed hands multiple times over the years, landing in Oct. 2014 with Tammy Greer and Teresa Kellogg, high school best friends. Teresa Kellogg and her husband Rollin Kellogg became sole proprietors four years later.
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