A popular Billings West End restaurant announced Tuesday that it's closing its doors after a decade in business.
The last day for Local Kitchen & Bar at 1430 Country Manor Blvd. will be Sept. 14, the owner, Ken and Kolbe Rakstad, wrote on the restaurant's Facebook page.
Any unused Local gift cards can be exchanged for a gift card at the Copper Onion Bistro, which is also owned by the Rakstads.
Local Kitchen opened in 2015 with the goal offering a menu full of locally sourced options. The Rakstads have owned the business for about six years.
Here's their full post on the restaurant's Facebook page:
"Its with a heavy heart that after more than a decade of serving our amazing guests and friends. Local Kitchen and Bar will be closing its doors September 14th. We hope to see as many of our patrons in the next couple weeks as possible. We had hoped to give a full month but with recent events that wont be possible. If you are unable to make it in before our close date you will be able to replace your Local GC with a GC From Copper Onion Bistro.
We would like to thank ALL of our amazing guests over the last 10+years for their support its been an amazing time with so many memories."
Restaurants have faced difficult challenges in recent years as rising food costs have led to more expensive meals, which pose a problem for diners seeking to save money. This year, Billings has seen a string of restaurant closures, starting in January with Bin 119 and Wild Ginger closing downtown and Blaze Pizza in front of Rimrock Mall. In April, downtown breakfast spot The Sassy Biscuit closed, and in August, the Buffalo Block Steakhouse announced its closure.
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