Fondren restaurant closes its doors for good Saturday night

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - “We spent the day of our wedding here, so it’s heartbreaking to us,” Mikey Domangue said.

“It’s been the best place I’ve ever worked in the restaurant industry by far,” Laure Arcury said.

Loyal customers and dedicated workers reminisce on the good times shared inside Barrelhouse. Some say the restaurant offered a whole lot more than just tasty food and drinks.

“I feel like this is such a great place for the community of Fondren for people to come to not only eat but hang out,” Mrs. Domangue said.

“With Barrelhouse closing, I’m really sad because my child really likes the chicken sandwich and things like that watermelon coolers… so we are here to support them on their last night,” Chelsea Singleton said.

On Tuesday, owners announced that they were shutting Barrelhouse down after six years in business because the pandemic and multiple water crises had proven too much for them.

A manager at the restaurant says they spent 150 days under boil water notices and 40 days with zero water pressure over the last two years alone.

With the latest water crisis, the owner says it was just too much to bear.

“It’s really been a financial burden over and over and over again… so for us, we couldn’t recover from it,” Arcury said.

Arcury says she has been with the business since it originally opened, and says she’s sad but also thankful to have been able to serve and work with a great group of people.

“It’s nice to see everybody and nice of those who have been very gracious to us and tell us how much they’d miss us.. so I have enjoyed that, I’ve enjoyed being with the staff for our last final days that we all are experiencing the exact same thing.”

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