Is Glasgows Caf a Goner?

It would appear the end is near for one of Bentonville’s oldest restaurants.

Glasgow’s Cafe, opened in 1964 by Connie and J.D. Glasgow, is up for sale. The 2,138-SF building situated between the Doubletree Guest Suites and the Best Western Castlerock Inn & Suites on Southeast Walton Boulevard was put on the market in mid-July.

With its native stone exterior and unpaved parking lot, it’s hard to miss. The restaurant, with its Mexican and American cuisine, was for many years destination dining for travelers on two-lane U.S. Highway 71.

The property is being marketed with an asking price of $700,000.

Financial troubles are partly to blame. Glasgow’s did $169,187 in business in 2011. Through the first seven months, the revenue total stood at $93,400. The business is delinquent in paying real estate taxes.

We also hear Connie Glasgow, the leader of the family-owned business since her husband’s death in the late 1990s, filed for bankruptcy Sept. 19 under Chapter 13.

Glasgow said the restaurant still has a strong core of patrons, but admitted business isn’t what it used to be.

“We used to have the whole pot and now we have to share it with the [chain restaurants],” she said. “And the younger crowd isn’t going to come to an old restaurant.”

Glasgow said no prospective buyers have been identified.

“The kids want to run it as long as possible, until it sells,” she said. “We just didn’t want to stick a great big ‘For Sale’ sign out in front.”