After more than two years of painstaking work through the COVID-19 pandemic and through economic setbacks, Game Day Sports Bar and Grill will close.

Tom Sutera, the owner of the downtown Aberdeen sports bar with Seattle Mariners, Seahawks and SuperSonics memorabilia that line its walls, plus classic NFL and NCAA helmets that partially cover the windows, has worked tireless hours to make his restaurant work.

Despite his and his staff’s best efforts, the business — located at 212 S. I St., — with classic tunes and the wafting smell of fresh bacon that filled the air on Thursday morning, March 31, will close at the end of April.

Sutera made the announcement on Sunday, March 27, in a Facebook post.

“I was contemplating waiting until April to announce, but having made the decision I have decided to let everyone know now,” he wrote. “We will be closing the restaurant-bar at the end of April. This wasn’t an easy decision, but it is the right decision.”

Sutera also took the time to thank the community for its support in keeping the business afloat.

For those who want to continue to support the business in its last month, these are the current hours:

Monday and Thursday — 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Friday and Saturday — 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Sunday — 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Two of Sutera’s staff members — Head Cook Drew Whitney and Amber McGregor, who serves the delicious menu items and ice-cold draft beer with a smile — say they’ve never had a better boss than Tom.

“He’s the best boss I’ve ever had,” said Whitney. “He’s the hardest working man I’ve ever met in my entire life. He gives a lot of trust and independence, which to me is one of the best things for a job.”

Whitney, who’s been working for Sutera since Game Day’s beginning, said his boss’ style is being hands-on because the silver-haired sports fan always wants to be a part of what’s happening at the restaurant.

“But it’s not a ‘What are you doing, what are you doing, (style)’” Whitney said.

Sutera pointed out to The Daily World that in more than two years — the restaurant operated inside The Shoppes at Riverside mall between December 2019 and right before Valentine’s Day in February 2021 before they were forced out because of the mall’s structural damage — he has had two days off. Sutera said he normally works every day of the week.

McGregor, who’s worked at the current Game Day location since August 2021, confirmed Sutera’s longstanding work ethic.

“He’s here every day,” she said. “Even if we tell him to go home and get some rest, he stays. We can handle it for a few hours so he can go home, but he’s just here every day all the time. He deserves some rest, to be honest.”

Sutera, who works 16-17 hour days, recently removed Tuesday and Wednesday from the restaurant’s calendar in an attempt to relieve himself from his own arduous schedule.

“I wanted to have a break and to be reenergized,” he said.

But, despite all the work that Sutera and his employees have done, things just haven’t worked the way he hoped they would.

“Looking back from the beginning, things cost me a lot more than I thought they would in getting (the business) going,” Sutera said. “It took me a little bit longer to get open than I thought it would. And so I didn’t get to do a lot of the things that I wanted to do.”

Sutera’s vision for the restaurant was to provide good food, great service, competitive prices, and to have a clean facility. He feels he’s done that.

Some customers show up for the $5 draft pint of Elysian Space Dust, which is normally priced much higher, and the flaky, flavorful fried cod and French fries.

Sutera said in the last year, he’s had good business.

“Looking back on (this) year, we’ve done a lot of good things, we really have,” Sutera said. “Sales have been a lot better, but it’s just not (enough) to support the payroll that I need. The last couple weeks, we’ve been fairly busy the whole time.”

Sutera really wanted Game Day to be the one thing he thought Aberdeen’s restaurant scene didn’t have.

“I wanted to create something that we don’t have in the area, and that’s a real sports bar,” he said. “There are a lot of places that have TVs on and stuff like that, but it’s just something we haven’t had in a long time and I thought that would be a really good fit for us.”

Sutera said COVID-19 changed everything for the business.

“It changed what we did,” he said. “Having a sports bar that could only offer take-out and delivery made it a little bit different than what my business plan was. We endured.”

Sutera said he questioned whether Game Day should have been open in early 2020, but after a conversation with his staff, he decided it might be a good time to stay open since a lot of other restaurants were closed.

“Maybe this is a chance for us to get out there a little bit in a time when there aren’t a lot of restaurants open,” he said.

For a while, it worked. New customers were showing up.

“The sad thing about this whole thing is we really haven’t done anything wrong,” Sutera said. “Everything’s been fantastic. Everyone loves the food, everybody loves the place. That has driven me over these past couple years to try to keep going and keep doing things, but there comes a time (to stop.)”

Sutera, as a man without deep pockets to start with, realized he had to say “when.”

“If it’s not gonna work, then I shouldn’t be doing it,” he said. “As bad as I want it to work, that doesn’t bring the revenue in.”

Sutera said the toughest part of his decision is how it will impact his staff. About 12 to 15 employees work at Game Day.

“My staff has done a terrific job for me,” he said. “There are times we’re short-handed and these people fricking bust their butts doing what they need to do to get things done. That’s been a lot of (the reason) why I’ve been hesitant in trying to close, is just helping these people out. They’ve done so much for me just by the work they do, and the customers all love them.”

Whitney said it’s “heartbreaking” to see the restaurant close.

“You put this much work in and it’s even more heartbreaking for me to have it happen to Tom,”Whitney said.

Even with the harsh realities Sutera is having to face when it comes to his restaurant closing, he is not going to feel sorry for himself.

“I’m proud of what we’ve done,” he said. “I don’t hold my head at all, because I’m proud of what we’ve done with what we had to work with.”