Tim Owens’ Traveler’s Tavern, which underwent a televised makeover last year, will close in early September.
Owens, the rocker known as Ripper, and his partner Micah Posten blamed other commitments for the closing.
“It is with deep regret that Micah and I have had to make the difficult decision to close the Traveler’s Tavern,” said Owens in an online post. “In the last few months and the months to come, my music schedule and Micah’s landscaping business have kept us and will continue to keep us from being available to focus on the Tavern as required.
“It is a tremendous commitment of time and resources to maintain a restaurant and music venue and unfortunately, we are not able to commit the time and energy to this business that it deserves. We have had to make the difficult decision to commit our time and resources to our main careers.
“We are lucky that we have had three great years with an amazing staff and wonderful memories and we will close being a successful restaurant and music venue!” he said.
Owens, a solo artist and former lead singer with Judas Priest, and Posten opened what was then called Ripper’s Rock House in July 2013. A combination restaurant and music club, the self-described “rockin’ sports eatery” “never made any money,” Owens said in 2015. “We’re gradually losing money, and people don’t see that. If people see one show going on, or a show on the weekend, they think, ‘You guys are doing really good.’ But they forget what happens Sunday to Thursday.”
The makeover was filmed for the popular Spike TV series Bar Rescue. The series and its host, Jon Taffer, specialize in aiding ailing restaurants. So when Owens and Posten heard the show was scouting Akron locations, they got in touch. Help arrived in August 2015, leading to an overhauled interior, a revamped menu and the new name.
Taffer called the earlier concept “way off. They weren’t communicating who and what they were. They were being perceived as a rock club, but they only had rock bands one or two nights a week. Their problem was they made money Friday and Saturday, but they lost it all during the week. They didn’t have the right concept to drive business Sunday through Thursday.”
The tavern got an additional boost in the fall of 2015 when its Bar Rescue episode aired. But now it’s time to move on.
“Words cannot express the gratitude we have for everyone who came out and supported the restaurant and the local music scene,” Posten said in another post. “A lot of work went into making this place great, lots of blood sweat and tears (literally) to bring Akron a place it could be proud of. I believe we were successful at that, but at this time Tim and I are being pulled away from that focus to concentrate on our main jobs. …
“We have both agreed to sell to another person who will be more focused on creating a cool restaurant and possibly keeping the stage rocking a couple times a month,” Posten added. “I personally will be contacting any acts we have booked to help find other venues for them to perform.”
The tavern will wrap up with what Posten called a “huge party” on Sept. 2, its last day with food, and the last live music show on Sept. 3. “LET’S BLOW IT OUT!” he said.