Last Wyoming Shari's Cafe to permanently close

Shari's sign on the remaining Cheyenne location's building - Optopolis

In the last couple years, dozens of Shari's restaurants have closed, and it appears Cheyenne's cafe, also Wyoming's last Shari's location, is the latest casualty; it will close on Tuesday, October 8th, 2024 at 4 PM MT.

Shari's used to have two Cheyenne locations + other history

Many Cheyenne residents may recall two locations existing simultaneously within the capital city. There used to be a Shari's on Dell Range Boulevard located where what is now Smile Doctors Orthodontics. That location was built in approximately 1992 (ten years after the East Lincolnway location) according to the county property assessor.

Shari's on Dell Range Boulevard was still operating as of 2011 - Google Maps Street View

The Dell Range location closed in the early 2010s, being replaced by Steamboat's Steak and Smokehouse in 2013. In spite of this closure, the older East Lincolnway Shari's location continued operating. Laramie, Wyoming used to have a Shari's location also, but that Shari's closed in 2016 and was replaced by Wyoming Downs.

In approximately 2013 based on permits in the Cheyenne Permits and Projects website, the East Lincolnway location did a bit of a refresh on their store. They installed a new red/yellow/white self-standing sign in place of the old yellow sign that once advertised their 24 hour model, and they added cafe, logo, and pie signage to the exterior of the building.

The signage such as that which is seen in this photo was not present in 2011 and sooner. - Optopolis

While the East Lincolnway Shari's does present itself in a high-visibility location in terms of vehicular traffic, it may not be located in the best location because it's located directly in the path of collisions on East Lincolnway. In September 2019 for instance (coincidentally, the same morning as Big Lot's first day open), a car, headed east, drove off the road. The car obliterated Shari's self-standing sign and damaged a parked car; a wheel even flew off and smashed into Shari's entry, shattering or obliterating multiple windows.

The driver of the vehicle, according to Oil City News, was in serious condition with life-threatening injuries. There was a permit submitted in November 2019 to replace the damaged self-standing sign, but the permit expired. To this day, one can still see the stubs of the old sign peeking out of the ground. At least two other deadly car crashes that didn't directly involve Shari's have occurred just in the last three years, one on October 13th, 2021 and another on March 2nd, 2024.

These metal pieces sticking out of the ground once were part of the self-standing Shari's sign on East Lincolnway - Optopolis

Cheyenne Shari's announces closure

Signs seen at the entry of Cheyenne's remaining Shari's restaurant indicate that the store's final day will be on Tuesday, October 8th, 2024. Other signs state that their hours of operation are 6 AM to 4 PM, meaning that the store is slated to close at 4 PM on October 8th. These hours are much shorter than they used to be. Even Shari's website still states that the Cheyenne cafe isn't technically supposed to close until 10 or 11 PM, depending on the day. At one time, Shari's used to be open 24 hours, but that's far from the case today.

No reason was given for why the Cheyenne store is closing, but Jessica L., an apparent Shari,'s worker, told Optopolis in the comments of her Facebook post that the management had nothing to do with the downfall of the Cheyenne restaurant, and that it has to do with financial decisions on the part of Shari's corporate. She went on to say that their current manager had, "done everything she could to make this not happen. We all tried hard as a team here in the Cheyenne location."

LEFT: Closure sign seen on the entry door window | RIGHT: Hours of operation seen on window to the right of the entry door - Optopolis

For months now, Cheyenne's Shari's has been advertised on Loopnet and Crexy. The asking price is set at US$2.66 million. Loopnet notes that the price per square foot is US$672 and the size of the building is just under 4,000 square feet. The land is currently zoned as Community Business under Cheyenne city limits.

Shari's corporate end faces financial and legal battles as locations close

Numerous Shari's locations have been closing in recent months. In 2024 alone, Lewiston, Idaho closed at the end of May, Tacoma, Washington's final location closed in July, Moscow, Idaho closed in August, and Keizer, Oregon lost a location at the end of September 2024; locations in Boise and Idaho Falls also closed. Nebraska lost their final Shari's in Scottsbluff in July 2023.

The Coeur d'Alene, Idaho location in this video from Andy's Retail Exploration closed in 2023.

According to The Spokesman-Review, Shari's has several liens for unpaid taxes and three tax warrants in addition to numerous cases involving "debt collection and/or unlawful detainers (commercial eviction cases)." Restaurant Business Online mentioned that Shari's CEO, Sam Borgese, appears to have ended his role as CEO in April 2023 although he was listed in official documents as president of Shari's as of January 2024.

A false rumor about Cheyenne's store

Back in early to mid August 2024, there were rumors that Cheyenne's Shari's would close on August 18th, but this proved to be untrue; a phone call to the store revealed both surprise and confusion at the information because the information was false. August 18th came and went, and the restaurant continued operating. This time in October, however, the closure is for real; the Cheyenne Shari's is officially anticipated to close in the afternoon of October 8th.

Update 10-19: Now closed, uncertain future

The Cheyenne Shari's location is now closed for business, and the building has been fenced off. Yellow flags/markers have been placed in the ground in some spots, markers that often indicate a gas line or other buried infrastructure. According to the Cheyenne City Projects and Permits website, it appears no new 2024 permits have been submitted at the address of the Cheyenne Shari's.

Seen here, Shari's in Cheyenne has been entirely fenced off. Yellow flags and markers (off-camera) could be seen on some of the lawn. - Optopolis

Another Shari's in Nampa just closed, along with locations in Pendleton, Bremerton, and Redmond. There have been rumors that all remaining locations may close any time now, though many locations are still operating. At this point, if anyone in Cheyenne wants to go to Shari's again, one would have to travel for potentially several hours or more to get there; according to Shari's website, the nearest location is in Idaho with more cafes in Oregon and Washington.

Update 11-5: On October 21st, 2024 (or, two days after the last update to this article on Optopolis), it was reported that all remaining Oregon Shari's locations had closed. Although the locations page on Shari's main website no longer lists the locations, approximately 31 locations remain open, including some locations in California, Idaho, and Washington.

With Shari's closing, do you think another cafe will be able to take the place of Cheyenne's Shari's? Will you miss the restaurant when it is gone? Let us know in the comments!

Originally published: October 8, 2024 at 1:00 PM MT

Updated: October 13th, 2024 at 10:54 AM MT to correct a typo in a date of a crash that happened along East Lincolnway near Ridge Road.

Updated: October 19th, 2024 at 3:27 PM MT to add new information about Shari's. 

Updated: November 5, 2024 at 5:32 PM MT to add information about the Oregon closures.