Juanita's co-owner Joe Cates at Juanita's in 2011. Brian Chilson

Joe Cates Juanitas image

  • Brian Chilson
  • Juanita’s co-owner Joe Cates at Juanita’s in 2011.

An inveterate Craigslist scourer on staff points us to a posting in the for-sale category for “World Famous Restaurant & Bar – $250000.” That’d be Juanita’s, which co-owners Joe Cates and Jim O’Brien purchased in Aug. 2010 and moved to the River Market in May 2011.

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“It’s like trying to grab a tiger by the tail,” Cates said of the business. “It’s a restaurant and bar. We have to open up at 8 a.m. and close at 2 a.m.”

Cates, an account executive at Clear Channel, said the grind had become too much for him and O’Brien, who runs several franchises of Larry’s Pizza.

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Cates said he placed the ad on Craigslist to see who would “bite.”

Selling doesn’t have anything to do with the fortunes of the business, he said. “It’s a good cash-flow business. If I can’t get the right amount of cash for it, I’ll keep it and keep making money on it. I’m not going to give it away.”

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He said the Craigslist posting had already sparked 10 calls of interested parties.

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