Blondies Sports Bar and Grill closed its doors on Oct. 11 after a group text message was sent out, informing employees about the situation. (Photo by Ana Ramirez)Blondies Sports Bar and Grill closed abruptly on Oct. 11, leaving frequent customers unsurprised and former employees unsettled.
Employees said the bar, located at Mill Avenue and Fifth Street, closed following disagreements between the landlord and the bar’s owner.
Matt Olms, who was a Blondies bartender, said he wasn’t surprised to hear it was closing.
“They didn’t give us any warning, but there were rumors,” he said.
Olms said the owner dealt with the disagreement by not paying rent and keeping the maintenance man cleaning in the restaurant all night.
“The last week we were there, we had to have someone stay there 24/7 so someone wouldn’t change the locks,” he said.
Blondies employees received a group text message just nine hours before the bar was to be permanently shut down, former chef and kitchen manager Jimmy Morrissey said.
“I showed up at 10 a.m. Friday, and it was gutted,” Morrissey said.
He said wires were hanging out of the walls and the posters and TVs had been taken down.
Morrissey said he doesn’t understand why a sports bar would close during the fall and winter months when there are many events going on in the area.
He said the bar recently hired many employees to prepare for its busy season.
“I did not see it coming,” he said. “You always have those fears of the dreaded Mill Avenue summers, but now we are in football season.”
After receiving nothing more than a text about the closure, Morrissey said it seemed like the owner didn’t care about the employees’ welfare.
“These are people’s lives you’re playing with,” he said. “There’s a girl who worked here who has a 16-year-old. I have a 2-year-old who I have full custody over.”
Under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, an employer of more than 100 staff members must give 60 days notice before closing. However, the WARN Act doesn’t protect employees of smaller businesses like Blondies.
“We were just disposable entities,” Morrissey said.
The Las Vegas-based Blondies replaced the Library Bar & Grill in November 2010.
ASU alumnus and Blondies customer Billy Wright said he wasn’t surprised the bar closed.
“It wasn’t one of those places that stood out,” Wright said. “None of my friends were ever like, ‘Hey, lets go to Blondies.’”
Owner Kevin Rodgers did not respond to interview requests.
Reach the reporter at amrami13@asu.edu
