Popular North Pole restaurant closes as owners retire
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (KTUU/KTVF) - After more than 16 years in operation, Little Richard’s Family Diner in North Pole plans to close on July 27 as owner Edward Richards and his wife Ann retire to their home in Delta Junction.
According to Richards, the community’s reaction to their announcement has been wonderful, with customers and friends visiting them at the restaurant in their final weeks.
“They’ve put their heart, heart and soul into that facility, and every day they’re open, the entire family unit there is out there working from opening to closing,” explained Howard Rixie, Treasurer of the North Pole Community Chamber of Commerce.
The restaurant opened in March 2010, Richards said, and its last open day will be Sunday, July 26.
“It’s a good feeling to know that you’ve done your job well enough that people will truly miss you,” he wrote to Alaska’s News Source.
“I love serving people, and if you do it right, it makes them happy, which brings me joy,” he added over-the-phone.
Rixie called the restaurant’s closure a “big loss” to the community.
“We’re a small town... and that’s the corner of our small town there. Everybody could go there. Everybody knows there. Ed is always playful with the customers,” he said.
In addition to supporting a number of events in the North Pole area, Rixie highlighted the quality of their meals and their customer service.
“I think anybody that goes into that diner or has been in that diner from this community is going to feel that loss,” he added.
Currently, Richards is in the process of trying to sell the property, and he confirmed that he’s currently asking for around $660,000.
“From a chamber perspective there, I hope someone does buy it very soon there and replaces what they’ve done,” Rixie said, adding that the replacement business would not have to duplicate the work that the Richards modeled in the building.
Richards said he is not selling the name of the restaurant because it is modeled after his own last name.
According to Rixie, the North Pole area does not see a whole lot of sit-down restaurants.
Richards agreed, saying, “Every place that closes affects people’s ability to go out and enjoy themselves.”
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