Sprouts closes after more than three years

That’s what Nancy Hutson discovered, anyway, with her restaurant Sprouts at 1802 W. 32nd St. Hutson said there are more than 10,000 people in-and-around the southwest end of Joplin each day — near the two hospitals — but that wasn’t enough to create consistent business for the restaurant. As a result, Hutson closed the restaurant on Sept. 1.

“The business just wasn’t consistent enough at that location out there,” Hutson said. “Just because there are that many people within that five-mile radius during the day does not guarantee a good day.”

Hutson, who owns Cycle Connection and the Route 66 Theatre in Webb City, opened Sprouts three-and-a-half years ago in the Pavilion's West strip mall at the intersection of 32nd Street and Maiden Lane. She said business quickly became unpredictable for the restaurant.

“We didn’t know what to depend on,” she said. “And the evening business was terrible. On an average day you wish you could say that lunch was guaranteed to kick butt, but you couldn’t say that. We thought it would be a little more consistent, but it wasn’t.”

Hutson said other restaurants have struggled in that location as well — Gaucho’s, which occupied another of Pavilion West’s units, closed earlier this year. A new restaurant, J.B. Elephant’s Thai Bistro, is scheduled to open in its place sometime in November.

According to Brian Taylor of The Glenn Group, Carl Blessing of St. Louis owns the strip mall and is currently seeking a tenant to lease Sprouts’ vacant unit.

“It’s currently up for lease and available immediately,” Taylor said. “It’s 2,635 square feet and we’re seeking a three-year lease.”

Taylor said there are other businesses within the strip mall that have been successful since that location was opened, and that he feels confident another business could thrive in the available space.

Hutson said the decision to close Sprouts was tough, but that the blow was somewhat lessened by the fact that Cycle Connections continues to do well.

“Cycle Connections is pretty much our bread and butter,” she said. “Plus we’ve got way lots going on with the community. The restaurant business is such a fickle business and I think we’re going to stay away from it for a little while.”

Taylor said anyone interested in leasing the property can contact him at (417) 529-9504. Hutson said some of the equipment from the restaurant is still in the empty unit and that she would be interested in selling it to those who might be interested.[[In-content Ad]]