"Trops" bar owner reflects on sudden closure

SPRINGFIELD, MO- For several years, Tropical Liqueurs (Trops for short) was a hot spot on Campbell Avenue in the downtown area. Now, several people are surprised to hear about its sudden closure.  

Michael Riley, who has been visited the establishment in the past, stated, “I enjoyed the food and beverage, but it's been a while since we've been in there." He added, "Yeah.  It's a sad situation for the business.”

Owner John Russell says last Sunday was his last day in business.   

“We opened in August of 2004, and that was kind of the downtown redesign...the start of it,’ Russell stated.

Now, the bar has had its last call. The lights are out, the patio is empty, and the doors are locked for good.

“As far as the customers and the people who work here, I will miss them a lot,” he said. “I will, of course, miss the business. But, yeah, it was just time.”

There are two reasons behind the hard decision to close, according to Russell, who said he had 16 years of good business before things took a turn.

"And then, you know, who dropped by COVID, and then everything kind of changed after that. I'm doing much less than half of what I used to do.”  He added, “People have a different idea of, what they'd rather do with they rather stay at home or go to the south [side of] town.

He says downtown is healthy with new businesses moving in, such as the new Moxy Hotel which opened nearby last year.  The growing list of options may be good for customers. But, it creates a lot more competition for the establishments.

Russell explained “There's a smaller pie and more slices in for us to fight over, I guess. But you know, things have just changed. He continued, “I don't see anything near-term, which you would have to turn around yesterday, and I don't see anything near-term that's going to change that.”

While standing in his once-bustling bar that's now quiet and dark, John prefers to think of the sunnier times.

"Springfield has been very good to us, and things are just the way they are. So there are no hard feelings, I guess.”