Lyn Jerde / Daily Register
Cloe’s downtown restaurant recently closed its doors.

Only skeletal remains of Cloe's and Dan's Saloon & Eatery are left at 123 E. Cook St.

After less than a year in downtown Portage, Carmen and Dan Kiefer closed the doors of their business last week.

Richard Lynn, owner of the building, said that he received a letter from the couple last week about their intentions to leave the space.

"(It said) that they had run out of money, and ran out of ideas, and they said they were surrendering the building to me," Lynn said.

In October, the business started as Cloe's Reservations Only, hoping to draw in private functions, meetings and special events. However, public confusion over the hours of operation inclined the couple to simplify it to Cloe's in February.

Community members also recalled a saloon in the building years ago, and the Kiefers decided to reinvent it. Dan's Saloon & Eatery was in a connected space with Cloe's, and served up a full menu the same month.

Within the last three years, the storefront has been known under three names.

Mitchell's restaurant and attached bar called The Broken Paddle closed four months after it opened in March 2008. Before Mitchell's, the location was home to Italian restaurant La Bella Luna, which closed in 2007 amid a legal battle between the eatery's owners and Lynn.

"There's nothing wrong with the spot. People in there haven't had any financing, and I'm getting a little discouraged with that," Lynn said.

The Kiefers told Lynn they would return the building keys Monday, he said, and there are prospective tenants to fill the spot.

"I don't give up, I keep plugging away at it. That building will be rented by the end of the month," Lynn said. "I'm looking for that needle in a haystack, still looking for that right person."

Messages left for the Kiefers were not returned.

jmccoy@capitalnewspapers.com

745-3519