SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Ernie Biggs Dueling Piano Bar in Downtown Springfield announced that this will be its last weekend in business.

This is the second long-standing downtown bar to announce its closure after Tropical Liquors posted on social media last week.

Rusty Worley, the Downtown Springfield Association Executive Director says this time of the year is a common time for businesses to close their doors.

“The cold weather in January and business licenses come due. So, it’s a time where many businesses evaluate whether or not they want to renew their licenses for the coming year,” says Worley.

Ernie Biggs sat in the heart of downtown on South Avenue for 22 years. Tropical Liquors stood on Campbell Avenue for just over 20. Worley explains the hardships these businesses endured.

“They’ve been through the Great Recession. They’ve been through COVID. Which is pretty remarkable that they’ve survived major events like that,” says Worley.

Ernie Biggs once had other locations in Springfield, Branson, Kansas City, and Little Rock, Arkansas. The downtown location outlasted them all.

Chazz Alderson lives in Springfield, he says places like Trops and Ernie Biggs mean a lot to the people it has served over the years.

“I think the thing that will be lost the most is the nostalgia of the places. People will come in, whether it’s they used to live here or they went to school here or whatever it is, they’ll go to those spots, and it’s just brings back good memories of them, so that is sad,” says Alderson.

Worley says it is sad to see these downtown staples go, but he is always excited for what the future will bring.

“While we mourn those businesses going out, we will be working with the next round of entrepreneurs on how to retrofit those space to respond to what customers want to see today,” said Worley.