Phoenix Business Journal: Why Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar closed

A country music-themed bar in Mesa shut down in October, but hopes to avoid the same problem that caused it to do so with a new Phoenix location.

Toby Keith’s I love This Bar was the main fixture at the Mesa Riverview development, but according to the Phoenix Business Journal, there was too much pressure on the bar to bring in all the business for the development.

“We were the anchor for the whole area,” John Thomas, vice president of marketing and entertainment of the company that owns the franchise, Boomtown Entertainment, told the Phoenix Business Journal.

Thomas said the store was expected to pull most of the weight in bringing people to Mesa Riverview, and Boomtown didn’t think that was fair.

After Mesa Riverview developers failed to bring in other name brand tenants as promised, Toby Keith’s closed in October.

But the franchise isn’t just throwing in the cowboy hat — there are 12 Toby Keith’s locations across America including a new location set to open in Phoenix in February.