04/07/2025
Well, here we are, folks.
At the risk of sounding arrogant, I feel like I’ve been at least pretty decent at most of the things I’ve tried doing in my life, save for two.
One, sticking to a diet, and two, saying goodbye.
I got a hold of Doc’s on a sweet deal eight years ago and knew immediately that it was meant to be a Sports Bar. Sports have always been important to me, almost on a molecular level. Recently, things have gotten even more difficult for local businesses, and places like Doc’s in particular. Hell, even Ho***rs is going bankrupt. The days of beer bottle joints, and wing shops, and places where you can catch five games at once may not be over all of the way, but Sports Bars are at war with the current economical climate, and it just flat out sucks that we are one of the casualties.
This was, and always will be the right call for our families, other projects, and our lives in general… no matter how much it hurts.
The Moore’s now ride off into the sunset of bar-ownership retirement. For decades, they gave us the world-famous Jimtown Bar, and Doc’s, two places that sports lovers will be talking about well into the 2050’s. They get to kick back, relax, and enjoy this next chapter that they’ve more than earned. It is truly hard for me to fit how much I will always love Marlon and Marty Moore inside the finite realm of what words can pull off.
The Klees family will continue running Kipplee’s, one of the finest family restaurants and pizza joints in the city. I’ve spent a lot of time with a lot of people in this business, and I can’t tell you how much I’ve enjoyed them as business partners and friends these past few years, and as we’ve all literally grown up together. If you’re worried about what kind of void is going to be left behind in the sports bar world after we turn the lights out tonight, you can rest assured that they will always get the game on for you at Kip’s.
Big Cat gets to just be a sports fan now, for a while, something he’s sorely missed. You can catch him at Hartigan’s, or making beer at the brewery, down at The Clover Club for a cocktail here soon when his blood sugar allows it, or at one of the two or three places he likes to spend his money at if you’re close enough to him to know where those are.
In all honesty, there are two ways to look at this. We could get bitter about the economy, and how much costs have risen over the last two years, and how much our neighbors as common men and women have struggled to afford rising grocery bills, utility statements, and rent.
Or, we could just focus on the last eight years of games, stories, and memories, and friendships that this city has blessed us with through Doc’s. Many of those friendships, close ties, and endearing bonds are going to live a lot longer than I will.
It’s tough to say goodbye, so we aren’t going to.
Instead, we’ll say “We’ll see you tonight, for one more beer before we all have to head home. And that we can’t thank you all enough for these sweet, sweet memories.”
We can’t wait to spend the rest of our lives remembering them.
Cheers,
Big Cat
