Buffalo Grill to close; River Room to stay open

After two years, the Buffalo Grill in Fort Scott is closing. Its last day of operation will be Oct. 22, Executive Chef Logan McGear said.

"We just don't have enough people coming through the door," he said.

Becky Mann, who owns the restaurant with her husband, Dean, said the pending closure stems from a sluggish economy, rising food costs and fuel surcharges. All of these make it very difficult for anyone in the restaurant business right now, she said.

The restaurant, located at 3 W. Oak, opened June 30, 2009, McGear said. It has 13 employees.

The River Room will still be available for events such as wedding receptions and parties, Mann said.

"Hopefully, someone will come along and lease the place and open it back up," McGear said.

The restaurant is open for dinner Tuesday through Saturday starting at 5 p.m.

Becky Mann said she and her husband have had a "wonderful experience" owning the restaurant for two and a quarter years.

"Logan, our chef, really has an incredible ability to produce wonderful meals, so people who have been to the restaurant have enjoyed some exceptional cuisine," she said. "People who have come from out of town have just been amazed" that a restaurant like the Buffalo Grill was available in a small town like Fort Scott. She added they had regular customers from Nevada, Mo., and Pittsburg, and some from "up north."

Dean Mann purchased the old Stout Building in 2002. Becky Mann said the roof was collapsing and "it was literally a few weeks from being demolished." She said Mann and another man looked at the building and said they didn't want to lose another historic building in Fort Scott.

"That was the beginning of our adventure," Mann said. "In the beginning of 2005, I took over and started working with the Kansas historical people to do restoration on it." They were "pretty much" finished with the project in January 2008 and had some events early that year in the River Room. The restaurant opened that summer.

"Dean and I are trying to retire. We never planned to be in the restaurant business," Mann said. They talked to regional and national chains, but the couple could not find anyone else who wanted to open a restaurant there because it was the beginning of the recession. The one thing people said they wanted was a good restaurant in Fort Scott.

"It was not on my bucket list, believe me, to own a restaurant. ... It's a difficult business to be in. The good part is we have made lots of friends, both with our customers and our employees," she said.