Fort Smith Town Club to close Jan. 31

The Fort Smith Town Club won’t see its 51st consecutive year of operation.

Club Manager Engin Tuncay and Town Club board member Phil White confirmed the club will close Jan. 31. Tuncay, who moved to Fort Smith less than a year ago from Memphis to manage the club, said the board decided they “weren’t doing enough business to justify staying open.”

He said the club employs 10 full-time and 6 part-time employees.

White said the board decided to cut its losses, close the operation and sell the real estate to satisfy debt. He also said the board wanted to pay all its vendors and close the operation without leaving unpaid bills.

“I’m just sick about it, you know. We just celebrated 50 years last year and now this,” White said.

Could the Town Club come back?

“The charter is there. It will still be intact. But we’re not thinking about that right now,” White responded. “We’re focused on shutting it down smart; doing it right and making sure all the vendors get paid.”

White also said the board and staff were intent on taking care of all parties booked for Christmas and the New Year.

He said the board recently sent a letter to club members asking them if they would volunteer to pay a one-time “assessment” to help keep the doors open. Not enough members volunteered.

White and Tuncay blamed the poor economic conditions for the downturn in revenue. But White went a step further, saying societal and generational changes have also resulted in fewer people seeing a benefit in club membership. He explained that when the Town Club first opened back in the late 1950s, it was one of the few places to get a nice meal with an alcoholic beverage.

“Now you can just run to Chili’s or wherever,” White said. “If you were to research it, you’d find that town clubs all over the country are having this problem.”