When I lived in the cities, people would say to me "Mora, is that far from The Sportsman's Cafe?".

To many, the Sportmans iswhat they grew up with. I recall many great meals there and many memorable times with family and friends. In High School, I worked at Town and Country Oil (Phillips 66) that used to be right next to it. I think not having the gas station there made quite a difference. Good food, good service.....great memories. That's The Sportmans Cafe to me !

Please folks don't tell me this is the product of your economics, why? Because that puts you square in the sights of why they closed. Why? You elect the politicians, they set the economic policy. You vote for the Corporate Sponsored parties, you get what you deserve; it's a shame that this legendary long-standing foundation of Mora is closing, even if temporary.

You want to vote in trickle economics, you want paper usury money over legal hard currency, you want the illegal Federal Reserve to call the shots, you want offshoring and outsourcing, restructuring? Don't complain when your out of a job.

Spoken like a ture liberal. Maybe there is another reason they closed, like a buger in a burger

It is sad that people like Dorthy have lost their jobs. The bigger problem with Mora is the closed minded city members who will not allow new business in. This attitude will be the demise of the town of Mora. They are worried of bringing in so called "trailer trash"..Have they bothered to take a quick drive south of Mora on 65 where you see nothing but what looks like meth huts? I would much rather see a Walmart and know that those who live in Mora and love Mora have a place to work. Why did Sportsman's close though??? Not due to the outside government but more due to the internal politics of small town USA . Those who pretend to "care" about the community and the people there...Those who live on the outskirts of Mora who are "too good" to actually live in Mora.

Those who so called "ran Sportsman's" actually ran it in the ground! I am sure it will all come out.

I wish the employees well and hope they are able to find decent employment. It was only the employees there who made the name and the legacy of Sportsman's NO ONE ELSE!

You know it is very sad to see that the Sportsmen's cafe has closed their doors... I have many memories of going there as a child with my grandfather.... Mora is well known for many hunters and fisherman and that is the best place to stop to get a decent home cooked meal for a decent price. So I send my regards to the employees and I hope that the Sportsmen's cafe will soon re~open their doors!

I think its all poor money management. I'm sure someone will buy up that little gold mine and it'll be going strong again. Where will we have coffee now?

It seems to me that a lot of times I would drive past Sportys in the evenings and there wouldn't be a single car out front. I'm not sure about breakfast but didn't a few years ago most of the bars didn't have food in the mornings either?

Their down fall was when the quit being open all night. It was the only place to go and get food after the bars closed. Sometimes you'd swear you had to be drunk to let in the door. Memories!!!

What about Grandma's? Weren't they both owned by the same person?

"Spoken like a ture liberal. Maybe there is another reason they closed, like a buger in a burger "

It's so sad you don't take the closing seriously and blame it on "buger." The resulting economy is a bi-partisan effort, anyone reading my posts understand I'm no liberal and you have been around this forum--sad. Please educate yourself with the WWW, not immature half-baked comments. Thank you.

Ah the memories, Then you had to go and spoil it , AGAIN!

It was sarcasm.

As far as the direction of education... I took the opportunity to see your "www"… I’m now afraid that they implanted the microchip already!

Business’s fail everyday, for simple reasons like mismanagement.

Thanks to all of the employees and good luck to you all.

And bkids1, I am smiling ;)

I have been in the food industry for 25 years and watched it get increasing hard for people to keep this kind of business afloat. Food costs from the venders have increased 3-4 times just in the last year! Which I am sure we all realize by just walking into the grocery store. The high cost of utilities also plays a role, not just for the business owners, but also by the customers that are depended on to keep the business strong. From what I understand the employees and management were very dedecated to each other working well together and supporting each other till the very end! Shame on those of you who think or feel differently. They also cared for their customers which will surely be missed by all the employees. A sad thing to see this land mark closed. Good luck to all of you who gave your best, you will also be sadly missed!

The comment from Server reads just like the person who helped the most is bringing this place down...Blah blah blah...woes me blah blah blah. You know who you are!

I am sorry for the employee's. I think if you ask them they will tell a very differnt story of their treatment.

Wasn't there suppose to be a movie featuring scenes at Sportsman's a few years ago?

Now that Jerry's Bait shop is all by it's lonesome I think everyone should go Ice fishing.

I thought server's comment was a good one, it was factual, and formed from personal experience. Many of you are business owners, and know how the public perceives all businesses as making money hand over fist, with no concept of the hurdles entrepreneurs face to stay afloat.

P.S. I think it is "booger" lol

Say what you will about "ture liberals"-at least they can spell.

Also, anyone that thinks the Walmarts of this world are destroying small businesses better think again. Any business that saves the customer money and creates jobs is good for the economy. You get a job and save money on groceries, and gas (from not having to drive to Cambridge anymore) the end result is that you have more money at the end of the week to spend at Steve's World, Grandma's Kitchen, Sportsman's Cafe etc. Strange how people don't include Coborn's most of the time when they complain about these evil corporations tearing apart their small town...

Well... "Any business that saves the customer money and creates jobs is good for the economy." Is a matter of dispute for many. Companies like the Grand Casino do in fact create jobs in the area, as they bring dollars from outside of the community here, and employ local people. But how does Walmart or Menards create jobs? There is going to be almost exactly the same amount of toilet paper, garden hoses, and loaves of bread purchased by citizens of Kanabec County no matter where they are purchased. So if they are purchased at Walmart, they aren't going to be purchased at Pamida, Ace Hardware, The Mora Bakery etc. As Walmart takes over more and more of the local retail economy, the original businesses will slow down, lay people off, those people then will (theoretically) become Walmart employees. So the question then becomes are the people better off working where they do now, or at Walmart? I don't know the answer to that. I know in some cases it certainly isn't Walmart. If Walmart pays less (they may or may not) then the difference in wages comes directly out of the dollar amount of the local economy, less wages= less money to spend. Then you have the business owners, the current business owners tend to spend the money they make in Mora MN, where as Walmart takes that money out of Mora MN, and takes it to Bentonville Arkansas...

There are many jobless people in Kanabec County, Walmart is one of the largest employers in the world. People that are currently going to Cambridge to buy their groceries(there are many) would go to Mora.

I mean no disrespect, but I don't think you get it. You can't create new money or jobs in a local economy unless you bring in money from outside like through manufacturing jobs, where the goods are sold outside the local community. Here is an example. If you open up a big beautiful new gas station in Mora, with great prices, how many more gallons of gas, or candy bars, or packs of cigarettes will the Mora economy sell? The answer is almost zero. A few commuters may buy gas there that would otherwise wait until they got to the city, biut that is a very minor amount. The point is that all the dollars the new gas station takes in, are directly taken out of another gas station in Mora's pocket. And if the new gas station pays their employees less, then the local economy actually gets smaller.

Don't recall America being made or dependent on Walmart, must be a conspiracy Theory promotion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATu-WhQ8IsY

Strongest, yeah it's the politicians that we elect that cause sportsman's to close. That's sound logic.

Walmart is about as evil as evil gets but sadly this hole in the ground town is in such a sad state that it would benefit from having one. We have to pay anywhere from 10% more to twice as much for identical hardware, grochery, houseware, and electronic products in businesses around Mora. Smart people don't shop in this county. Not only that, but Cambridge and Pine City Walmarts provide over 300 jobs. Walmart pay is nothing to brag about, but it pays better than most all businesses in the region.

Unfortunately, again, as much as I hate Walmart, they are more resiliant to standing sturdy during the high and low swings of economic times, and will keep providing jobs, hours, employee discounts, and benefits (as insignificant as those benefits are, at least they exist, compare that to the rest of Mora's businesses.)

I have been in this town for over 20 years and sometimes it seems like the only additions I've seen are Trailview, Pizza Hut, and Subway. It almost seems like there have been more subractions. Family farms disappearing, the Land O' Lakes plant went down, now Sportsmans went down too. Walmart isn't taking those businesses down, so who is?

A flatlining community is.

Its about time...maybe now they will take a bulldozer to that whole building..bait store and all and build something nice and new there! The place is an eyesore!

You shoud'nt have.

I don't have enough energy to explain this again...

"Smart people don't shop in this county."

%60 of People living in Kanabec county work outside of County also.

"Family farms disappearing, the Land O' Lakes plant went down, now Sportsmans went down too. Walmart isn't taking those businesses down, so who is?"

"A flatlining community is. "

And neither Faust or Soderstrom has relieved or fixed the problem--this Nation as a whole has a big problem, we can talk about export-import laws, outsourcing, offshoring, state vs fed issue, Govt. control-interference in the unfree Farm Market, Global economy, service economy vs. manufacturing economy; I like Paul, don't have energy because no one is going to care or listen anyway.

I cannot compete against the Sunday morning hangover recovery program, the Wii, Ipod, Tv, sports games, Gaming, etc...

The place is a eyesore!!!!

That has to be one of the dumbest comments I have read on this site to date. Jerrys has been open and in operation for over sixty years. If it was not for them you would not of had a Sportsmens Cafe or a Phillips 66 both in which have provided jobs to this community for decades. Who ever made the eyesore comment should quit staring at the computer all day and get outside to enjoy the land. Oh yeah if you want to do stuff like that you can find stuff at Jerrys bait. Why don't you show a little respect and not post whatever floats into the empty space between your ears, an eyesore.....

Jerry's Bait and Sportsman Cafe are buildings that bring me back to simpler times just driving by them. The look is small town America. That's what Mora is. If it's an eyesore to you-who, who said that, then move to a big fancy city with NEW modern buildings.

We do need a Wal-Mart. "Shop locally." Who can afford to? I was at Fleet Farm in St. Cloud yesterday and Pamida in Mora today. Fleet Farm had a portable dvd player for $89.00. Pamida selling for $139.99!! Same player. It's worth the gas to drive to St. Cloud. Same with Wal-mart. The groceries and variety are well worth the drive. Every time I shop at Coborns, it's way more expensive and I kick myself afterward. I regret that I didn't make the drive, and fill up at a Cambridge gas station while I was at it. Pamida is a waste of space in this town. Mora is going to the dumps. People make the drive to Cambridge, Pine City, St. Cloud, all around Mora and bypass Mora. WAKE UP people. Time to let some businesses in. Mr. Rowlands, I understand your opinion about the businesses. But as a consumer, I have to make the drive...I can't afford to shop in Mora.

Well, don't spend any money locally, and the look "small town america" will soon be "ghost town america". Tumbleweeds blowing down the street, abandon stores with their doors banging open and closed in the wind... Ok maybe not tumbleweeds... Seriously though, Its ironic you like that look, but are unwilling to support it. This is america, people are free to spend their money any where they like, but why not live in the community you support? Instead of here? All of us have spent some money outside the community, obviously, but if you are living in a community, and taking advantage of the things you like about it, and then not spending any money there, even making sure you fill up with gas and groceries before you come back home, so you have more disposable income for portable DVD players, making sure you get everything you can out of the town, but not giving a penny in consumer spending back, you are treating the town like a whore, its that simple. If there is any place that needs "economic stimulus" it is Mora MN