Local chain Tanner’s Bar & Grill says it will close its longtime Overland Park location on 119th Street later this month.
But company officials say the plan is to open a new location just a couple of miles away later this year.
Tanner’s recently announced on its Facebook page that after 38 years, the location at 10146 W. 119th Street, in the Highland Plaza shopping center, will close for good on Feb. 28.
General manager Matt Brentano said the company could not come to terms with the center’s landlord for renewing Tanner’s lease at 119th Street.
“We would love to have continued there, but obviously that wasn’t in the cards. So, we’re excited about the new spot,” he said.
That new spot will be just about two miles away at 12520 Quivira Road, next to the University of Kansas Edwards Campus and directly across the street from the city-owned Sykes/Lady Overland Park Golf Course.
That space was formerly a branch of the KU Bookstore and also a Lamar’s doughnut shop before that.
Brentano said they hope to open the new Tanner’s by June, pending the city permitting process.
“I kind of keep telling people mid-year, because I don’t have a firm timeline yet. We had [demolition] done on the inside, and I’m just waiting on permits to come back,” he said.
It’s a bittersweet move for the Lenexa-based bar chain.
The Overland Park bar and grill on 119th was the company’s second location, after its original one on 87th Street in Lenexa. The company now runs more than a dozen franchises, from Manhattan, Kansas, to Omaha, including five in Johnson County.
Brentano said they opened at 119th Street just a few weeks before KU won the men’s national basketball championship in 1988.
“We’ve been fortunate to watch many more [championships], between KU and the Royals and the Chiefs,” Brentano said.
“It was a great spot on game day to join with friends and watch our local team celebrate championships together,” he added.
The company says it’s trying to place current employees at the 119th location at other Tanner’s throughout the metro.
“Right now, our focus is on celebrating 38 amazing years at 119th Street — and we hope you’ll come see us this month as we close this chapter,” the bar said on its Facebook page earlier this month.
“And then … we can’t wait to make many new memories with you at our new home.”
