Shorty Small’s keeps losing leases.
The Oklahoma City chain closed its store on Warden Road in North Little Rock at the end of 2011 because it lost its lease after nearly two decades, Arkansas area director Chris Potts said.
The building looks to be getting a facelift and a new tenant, Newk’s Express Cafe, is slated to open there in the spring.
Meanwhile, Shorty Small’s remaining location in Branson, Mo., also closed recently after losing its lease, Potts said.
The burger-and-barbecue chain plans to reopen in both cities. Shorty Small’s was in North Little Rock for 18 years and did well there, so the chain hopes to have an eatery back open there in 2012, Potts said.
The North Little Rock joint reported $1.3 million in food sales for 2011, but the data is incomplete because the restaurant failed to pay its restaurant taxes for March and April.
Shorty Small’s now is left with only four restaurants after starting 2011 with eight. The remaining locations are in Little Rock, Jonesboro, Oklahoma City and Wichita, Kan.
The year 2011 was a thorny one overall for Shorty Small’s, which has its headquarters in Oklahoma City. You might recall a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in May and the closures of the Conway location and another restaurant in Branson.
Sign up for Daily E-news
