Although O’Donoghue's Steaks and Sea Food is no longer on the market, the owner said he would sell it for the right price.
The 18-year-old Jefferson City restaurant, located at 900 E. High St., was on the market for two years.
“When I put it on the market in 2019, our sales were so low and stagnant that I was just ready to be done,” owner Robert Craig said. “The market was so saturated that it was just difficult. We were sort of becoming an antiquated way of dining.”
Then the COVID-19 pandemic started, causing even more challenges.
“It was really difficult,” Craig said. “But then post-vaccine, we have done record numbers in 18 years of being open, and I’ve recorded record sales every month for the past nine months, so it’s almost like we were reinvented when vaccines came out.”
Since sales were high and nobody was interested in buying the property, Craig took it off the market at that time.
He said he would still sell the property if somebody paid the price he has set, $650,000.
“I love this town and love this restaurant and building, but I’m physically exhausted from it,” Craig said. “So if someone came in and paid my price, I would hand them the key.”
The property has four apartments, including three upstairs, with 12-foot ceilings and hardwood floors.
“When tenants move in, they usually stay upwards of 10 years,” Craig said. “The rental properties are income-based, so you get income off of that as well.”
He showed the property a few times, but it wasn’t a good fit for the people who were looking at it.
“A commercial property like ours — because of the historic part of it — is going to take a special individual who can appreciate it — an up-and-coming chef that would buy it and take the restaurant over or something like that,” Craig said. “It’s not your typical commercial property.”