Mason Dixon Cafe closes

On the morning of Dec. 27, the front door of the Highlands Clubhouse was locked, with no sign of activity in the restaurant area. The Mason Dixon Cafe, which opened in October 2015, appeared to be closed.

POA General Manager Tom Judson wasn’t sure of the status when he was contacted last week. The space was leased by the POA to the restaurant operators.

The restaurant was owned by Scott Poe and David O’Brien, who previously owned Burger Time on I-49 north of Pineville, Mo.

In a Facebook post on Friday, Poe said he closed the restaurant after he decided to pursue other business interests. He said O’Brien is going back to the farm.

“We would like to say thank you to our customers, employees, POA staff and POA management for giving us the opportunity at the Highland Golf Club House Restaurant,” Poe wrote. “Even so, we have decided that it would be in our best interest to close. The POA staff and management have gone out of their way trying to help us make Mason Dixon profitable. The decision to close has nothing to do with dealing with the POA management, board, or employees. We will miss seeing so many of you: wishing you a

happy New Year.”

Judson said he knew the operators were considering closing the restaurant, but he didn’t expect it to happen so quickly.

“They told me that financially, it was just not working for them,” Judson said. ‘We met and tried to adjust the lease to see if we could hold on to them, but they were not interested.”

Judson said he believes it’s the lack of traffic in the area that makes the restaurant business so difficult. Traffic might improve when the bypass opens, he said.

“The POA didn’t want them to leave,” he said.

“We know we need to offer some level of service for our customers out there.”

The POA leased all their restaurant space for the most of the last 10 years, but over the past two or three years, some changes have been made. When the restaurant in the Metfield Clubhouse closed in December 2012, the space was converted to offices. In 2015, a snack bar run by the pro shop employees opened.

The Yacht Club restaurant closed in December 2011 but was never leased. Last summer, the POA announced plans to reopen that space in April 2017 as a restaurant and event center under POA management.

The Country Club restaurant space will also reopen under POA management next summer.