By Krystal Smalley
ksmalley@wbcowqel.com

Golfers and hungry patrons may have been a bit surprised when they stopped by the Bogey Grill to get a bite to eat and found the doors locked this week. The Bogey Grill, located at the Golf Club of Bucyrus, officially closed its doors on Saturday. By noon on Wednesday, the roadside marquee made the announcement official and thanked everyone for their patronage.

Manager Coleena Gundrum confirmed the closing of the restaurant as she manned the desk of the Pro Shop Wednesday afternoon. Employees at the Bogey Grill and the Golf Club may have been tight-lipped about the announcement but she said they knew it was coming a few weeks ago. Gundrum said it was sad to see the Bogey closed.

“Bucyrus is a tough place to do business in,” explained the Bogey’s owner, Robert Johnson. In a little town like Bucyrus, restaurants just can’t charge the prices like those found in bigger cities, Johnson said. ‘It’s just tough to control all the costs.”

Johnson had high hopes for the Bogey Grill over the past three years. The restaurant had been renovated and offered a wide variety of specials. He said they had their regular customers that came in routinely but it wasn’t enough to maintain the costs of running a restaurant.

“You got to have staff there whether there’s customers or not,” said Johnson.

The decision to close the Bogey’s doors was a painful one to make. Johnson said he got sick in April and discovered that he had cancer. As he went through treatments, he found that it was hard to be at the Bogey Grill fulltime. He also realized that running a restaurant is not what he really wanted to do.

Finally, the decision had to be made.

“It was tough,” said Johnson. “I mean, you got to let people go.” Johnson knew that any decision he made would affect his staff, which included three fulltime employees and 16 to 20 part-time employees.

Johnson is highly doubtful that he will reopen the Bogey Grill, or any variation, in the future.

The Golf Club of Bucyrus, which is also owned by Johnson, will remain open.