Toby Keith's I Love This Bar & Grill Locked Out of West Oaks, Closed for Good

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Did you attend Toby Keith's I Love This Bar & Grill New Year's Eve bash (don't all raise your hands at once)? If you did, the bash was served as the West Houston bar's closing party likely. The bar posted the following message to Facebook page on New Year's Day before the entire page was deleted:

Thank you ALL for making 2014 such an amazing success here at Toby's!! We had so much fun with y'all and have made so many friends and memories! We cannot wait to see what 2015 has in store for all of us! ‪#‎happynewyear‬ ‪#‎goodtimesahead‬ ‪#‎thankyou‬ ‪#‎cheers‬
A crystal ball isn't needed to reveal Toby Keith's I Love This Bar & Grill's fate for its Houston location this year. Its fate appears to be sealed. The troubled bar named after Keith's song was locked out of its West Oaks Mall home for non-payment of rent over the weekend and possibly closed, according to KPRC.

It's not entirely surprising. Not everyone loved the bar as the name implies. Toby Keith's I Love This Bar & Grill has had issues before opening. Various local contractors have long cited grievances with the bar over non-payment for their services. Most nights, crowds were few and far in between. Despite a deal with Capri Restaurant Group to add the musician's name to the bar and use of his image, country music lovers weren't interested in flocking to West Oaks Mall, especially for less than average food offerings.


Update: According to a press release this morning from Phoenix-based Boomtown Entertainment, parent company of Toby Keith's I Love This Bar and Grill, the closure is part of an overall tactical move. Per the release, "The company has decided to tactically close locations in Houston, Folsom, Calif. and Newport News, Va. to evaluate and explore the marketplace for more strategic locations."