Nov. 17, 2020

A Hartford restaurant and event center are closing in the coming days after seeing sales drop since the pandemic started, the owners said.

Blue 42 Sports Grill will close Friday night, and Dakota Plains Event Center will close Sunday after one final wedding.

“As you know, 2020 has been a remarkably interesting and difficult year for many if not anyone,” general manager Tony Axtell said in a news release. “The world has been trying to navigate in these uncharted waters during a pandemic, and the results have been unfavorable to say the least.”

Axtell and his wife, Courtney, bought the Hartford event center and opened the restaurant three years ago.

“Over the past six to nine months, my staff and myself have exhausted every option to try and save Blue 42,” Axtell said. “However, with the world in chaos, we have seen the decline in sales increase each month.”

The couple’s business, Empire Productions LLC, will file for bankruptcy, Axtell said. The owners of the neighboring hotel will regain possession of the building that houses the restaurant and event center, he said.

More than 30 of the weddings scheduled at Dakota Plains since spring have been canceled or postponed, Axtell said. About 10 were held.

Couples who had future weddings booked for the event center have the option of moving them to the Prairie View Event Center in Tea at no additional cost, Axtell said. About a half-dozen, however, have conflicts with weddings already scheduled there, he said.

Axtell plans to celebrate the restaurant’s end with “large specials to help give everyone the opportunity to come out and enjoy Blue 42 for a few more days.”