The Ark Restaurant Closes After More Than 25 Years
Categories: Openings/Closings
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| The Ark via Facebook |
| Iconic buffet restaurant, The Ark, has closed. |
The restaurant, owned by brothers Jimmy and Jerry Kleinricht, has long been a staple for family celebrations and holiday dinners.
The restaurant
featured a generous buffet including prime rib, cold seafood selections,
homemade bread pudding, and an extensive salad "deck."
The restaurant, themed after the story of Noah, featured animals, lobster traps, and ship memorabilia outside. Inside, the restaurant was decorated with stained-glass windows from St. Pete's Catholic School in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and was furnished with tables handmade from Atlantic Ocean driftwood. Known for endless amounts of good, old-fashioned comfort foods, two of the Ark's most famous items were their mounds of house-made flavored whipped butters and juicy broasted chicken.
According to CBS4, Danielle Kleinrichert, the daughter of co-owner Jim Kleinrichert, said the restaurant is closing in part because her father wanted to retire and didn't want her generation to have to step in and take over. She also said the restaurant was having trouble competing with chains offering meals at lower prices.
Fans of the restaurant have taken to Facebook to lament the end of an era, with many posting that they had frequented the family-friendly restaurant for years.
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