The 88 Restaurant & Lounge plans to close its doors Saturday, July 11, citing financial strain related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

88 Restaurant & Lounge to close doors July 11; Bicentennial Inn will remain open

BUCKHANNON – On July 1, the 88 Restaurant & Lounge announced the restaurant will be closing soon.

“It is with a sad and heavy heart [we must] inform everyone that The 88 Restaurant & Lounge will be closing its doors on July 11,” a post on the restaurant’s Facebook page read Wednesday. “We will be serving food outside at our pavilion this week Wednesday-Friday (July 1-3) and next week, Wednesday-Saturday (July 8-11), with our final day being on July 11.”

“We hope you can come out and support us in our final days being open,” the post continued. “Events at the property will still proceed with the exception of food. If anyone has an event that they would like catered, we can make suggestions and work with you to make those events a successful one.”

General manager of the 88 Restaurant & Lounge and the Bicentennial Inn Carl ‘Robbie’ Martin said Wednesday the COVID-19 pandemic put a strain on the restaurant’s operations.

“When COVID-19 hit in my business, it was the worst time to shut everything down,” Martin said. “We missed out on three of our four largest events in the year, and in that time frame, that’s when we make, in my business, almost half of our year’s income, so it was detrimental.”

“I tried opening back up, but everything’s still very slow,” he added. “It was just so big of a hit that the best thing for me as a business is trying to lease it out to someone else and see what they can do with it.”

Martin said the restaurant will still be open for outside dining at the pavilion July 1 through July 3 and July 8 through July 11. The 88 Restaurant & Lounge will post their menus on their Facebook page at 7:45 p.m. each day.

“I wanted to give my employees some time to try to work things out, and that’s as long as I could give them was July 11,” Martin said. “I greatly appreciate everyone – all patrons of our restaurant, and it’s very sad. I just want to thank all of you; that’s the biggest thing, and I just hope we can find someone else to come into the spot and have another wonderful restaurant.”

Martin said the Bicentennial Inn will operate normally, and owner of the newly opened 88 Salon, Pam Bucklew, posted Tuesday that her new business will remain open.

Martin said the 88 has always been his favorite place to eat – even before he took charge of it several years ago.

“Before I ever even took over, this was always my favorite restaurant and I remember someone would say, ‘Where’s the best restaurant in town?’ I would say, ‘The 88, that’s the best restaurant in town,’” Martin said. “I was blessed to be able to take it over three years ago, and I just wish we weren’t in this predicament.”

Featured

SHOPS & SERVICES

Buckhannon man held on $100,000 bail after being arrested on multiple drug charges

BUCKHANNON – A Buckhannon man was arrested Saturday after several illegal substances were allegedly found in his residence. Bryan Shaw, 41, of Buckhannon, was arrested for possession with intent to deliver methamphetamine, possession with intent to deliver heroin, possession with […]

Become a premium member to unlock immediate access to this story and thousands more. Plus you’ll wake up every morning to our email edition. Your subscription supports local news by local writers. Signing up is easy — just tap the button below!

Buckhannon City Council approves $6.5 million-dollar budget prioritizing public safety, infrastructure

BUCKHANNON – City council passed the largest budget in Buckhannon’s history Tuesday, with the two largest allocations once again earmarked for public safety operations and infrastructure maintenance, respectively. At its March 14 meeting – rescheduled from March 16 due to […]

Become a premium member to unlock immediate access to this story and thousands more. Plus you’ll wake up every morning to our email edition. Your subscription supports local news by local writers. Signing up is easy — just tap the button below!

Police arrest man they say was the driver in 2022 pursuit that ended in a wreck with two people ejected

BUCKHANNON – A Rock Cave man was arrested for allegedly fleeing from police officers in a vehicle, injuring himself and a passenger. Elijah Carpenter, 27, of Rock Cave was arrested Thursday for fleeing from an officer and fleeing or attempting […]

Become a premium member to unlock immediate access to this story and thousands more. Plus you’ll wake up every morning to our email edition. Your subscription supports local news by local writers. Signing up is easy — just tap the button below!

SHOPS & SERVICES

Softball Lady Bucs get one-hit by Lincoln’s Haller in debut in 10-0 setback

TENNERTON – For their season opener, the Buckhannon-Upshur softball Lady Bucs ran into one of the top pitchers in the state in Lincoln’s Delaney Haller. Haller was the Big 10 Conference Pitcher of the Year last season and was captain […]

Become a premium member to unlock immediate access to this story and thousands more. Plus you’ll wake up every morning to our email edition. Your subscription supports local news by local writers. Signing up is easy — just tap the button below!

Baseball ‘Cats get home doubleheader split with ABU

BUCKHANNON, W.Va. – The West Virginia Wesleyan baseball team split with the Alderson Broaddus Battlers Monday, winning 7-2 in the first game and losing 7-0 in the second game. The bats were alive in Game

Inexperienced tennis Bucs fall in first two outings of 2023 season

BRIDGEPORT – The Buckhannon-Upshur tennis Buccaneers dropped their first two outings of the year last week. They opened their season at home last Thursday with a 7-0 setback to Robert C. Byrd and then went to Bridgeport Saturday and dropped […]

Become a premium member to unlock immediate access to this story and thousands more. Plus you’ll wake up every morning to our email edition. Your subscription supports local news by local writers. Signing up is easy — just tap the button below!

Lady Buc netters open season with win over Robert C. Byrd and narrow loss to John Marshall

BRIDGEPORT – The Buckhannon-Upshur Lady Buc tennis team is off to a 1-1 start to the season and was just an eyelash away from being a perfect 2-0. The Lady Bucs hosted Robert C. Byrd last Thursday and won a […]

Become a premium member to unlock immediate access to this story and thousands more. Plus you’ll wake up every morning to our email edition. Your subscription supports local news by local writers. Signing up is easy — just tap the button below!

SHOPS & SERVICES

Working in service: WVU research reaches all of West Virginia

Breakthroughs and research expertise nurtured at West Virginia University extend far beyond its labs, experimental sites and classrooms. In fact, WVU research efforts are unique compared to most universities, according to Vice President for Research Fred King. “While

Fairmont State University selects 2023 Presidential Scholarship winners

Three incoming Fairmont State University freshmen have been selected as the recipients of Fairmont State’s premier academic scholarship, the Charles J. McClain Presidential Scholarship. Sophie Stuart from Jefferson High School (Charles town, W.VA), Hailey Jordan

WVDEP hosting students on World Water Day

CHARLESTON, WV – In an effort to enrich students’ understanding of the importance of clean water, the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) is hosting a water education event for area grade schools on