Searles on Fifth Ave in St. Cloud to Remain Closed Permanently

ST. CLOUD -- The owners of Searles on Fifth Ave in downtown St. Cloud have announced they will not be reopening the business.

In a post on Facebook, owners Darin and Michelle Agnew say there are two main reasons for their decision. One is due to the repeated shutdowns and breached contacts from being closed, they were unable to regain financial footing.

They say the promised Federal Restaurant Revitalization grant was again recently voted down. Which they say was their last hope.

The second reason for not reopening is due to health reasons. The stress from the past few years has taken its toll on mental health as well as physical health. It has led to heart failure for Darin and at least one heart attack. This was complicated by no health insurance/income.

Searles on Fifth Ave opened in February of 2020 about a month before the COVID-19 pandemic began. The previous business that building, D.B. Searles, closed in March of 2018.