09/13/2016
*******PLEASE READ********
3 years ago Andy Yeager came to us with an opportunity to open a 2nd restaurant. We were honored he thought of us and saw it as an opportunity & investment in our family's future. We came up with a concept we thought was exciting and different for Harrison, which it was. But unfortunately we made big mistakes and trusted the wrong people. We take 100% ownership for these mistakes, they were only ours to make. Over the past 2 years we have given everything we have to recover from those mistakes, but sadly we have failed at the task.
So Bobby and I have made a very difficult decision, and one not made light heartedly, to close Papa Gene's. October 2nd 2016 will be our last day of regular business. (we have committed to a fundraiser for Ozark Humane Society on October 3rd and will honor our commitment to them) In making this decision we realize it not only affects us but also our staff, their families, our family and our customers. But it is a decision we needed to make. We pray you all will accept our apologizes, for we know the inconvenience this brings to your life.
We could give you a list of many reasons why this restaurant failed, ultimately it falls back on the decisions & mistakes we made. After 3 years of hard work, long hours, 7 days a week Papa Gene's narrowly breaks even, as hard as this is for us to admit, it is our circumstance right now. And we just can not continue to justify breaking even as a reason to miss out on spending time with our 3 children and making memories with them. Life is to short and their childhood goes by to fast for us to work it away. These 3 kids are who we come home to every night and their opinions of us as their parents takes precedence over everything else. For those who maybe wondering what Papa Gene's opinion is of our decision, he fully supports us.
If asked would we take the chance on a 2nd restaurant again, a couple months ago we would have said heck NO, but while making this decision weather to close or not, thinking things through and looking back over the past 3 years we have realized that we would do it all over again. And we would not change a thing. Yes we would make the same mistakes. Because with those mistakes we have found employees who believed & trusted in us, customers who forgave and continued to support us, true friends & family that love, care and want the best for us and will stand beside us no matter the circumstances. And when the rumors start going around (because we all know there will be rumors) these people will not buy into the gossip and will instead put the truth in place. Bobby & I want to thank all of you for seeing past our mistakes and knowing our hearts were always in the right place, although at times our brains were not.
Bobby & I will humbly face this failure head on, pray for our mind & heart to see and learn from this experience, re-adjust, move on, focus our attention solely on Ranch House and most importantly to have more faith in Him and His plans for our future. This is just a bump in the road (an expensive bump) but this does not define who we are or what we are capable of doing in the future.
We look forward to seeing everyone at ball games or school functions or Ranch House because that's where we will be. Let me emphasis Ranch House Restaurant WILL remain open for business as usual.
Sincerely,
Bobby & Crissie Lineberger
