ST CHARLES, Mo. — A pair of St. Charles restaurants is preparing to close for good.
The owners of Ruma’s Deli and Big Richard’s Hot Dogs announced on social media that Saturday, Oct. 16 will be their last day in business.
“We have tried our very best to keep going, to keep serving the community that embraced us, but circumstances beyond our control have made it impossible to continue without incurring further significant losses in the future,” the restaurants wrote in a joint post online.
Ruma’s Deli and Big Richard’s Hot Dogs are located in the same building on West Elm Street at Kingshighway in St. Charles. The restaurants shared a heartfelt thank you to loyal patrons for stopping by over the years.
“To our friends and family, to our local business community, to our dear friends among all the honorable first-responders, and to our loyal employees: We thank you from the bottoms of all our hearts. We have enjoyed meeting you, serving you (and along side you,) and having a good laugh with you! Above all, we wish you and all of your families the very best of health and happiness – take care of yourselves, and each other!” the restaurants shared.
Ruma’s Deli in St. Charles recently went viral for a community-wide effort to help those in need during a rough year for many St. Louisans.
Customers started coming in and paying for meals in advance for someone else to claim whenever they needed a meal. At one time, there were more than 100 receipts on the wall. Those who needed a free meal could come in and pick out a receipt, no questions asked – all thanks to the generosity of Ruma’s Deli customers.
“This community and the customers here are amazing,” owner Dana Bannister said back in February.
With the St. Charles Ruma’s Deli closing, there are two others still open in the St. Louis area in south St. Louis County and Imperial.
The south county location announced in August that it would be closing on Sundays due to an “extreme staffing shortage.”