Wolves Den Bar in Girard closes

Staff report

GIRARD

A local restaurant has closed six months after opening.

The Wolves Den Bar & Grill inside the Creekside Golf Dome & Sports Complex on North State Street ended operations Tuesday, said part-owner Joe Rzonsa. He points to a lack of customers as the deciding factor.

“We tried to implement the same concept that we used in Boardman and Struthers, but it didn’t work,” said Rzonsa.

The Wolves Den opened its first location in Struthers in 2001, followed by another in Boardman in 2004. Rzonsa said both locations are successful. Its Girard location opened in February, but the lack of interest made it difficult to remain profitable, he said.

Part-owner of Creekside Kurt Latell said the restaurant leased the area from his facility, but he thought the restaurant would benefit both businesses.

“It was unfortunate,” said Latell. “It goes to show what the business climate is like right now.”

Creekside Golf Dome & Sports Complex opened in 1998, and has an indoor and outdoor driving range, golf simulators and an outdoor miniature-golf course. Latell said the facility sees an increase in customers in winter, but he couldn’t say whether that was a contributing factor to the restaurant’s closure.

Rzonsa said the Wolves Den invested $150,000 in its location at Creekside. He said the company will assess its options but does plan to open another restaurant.