Sisters Forced To Close Down Only Restaurant In Porter

The only restaurant in the town of Porter has been forced to close after only being open a year and a half.

The owners said they couldn't keep the doors open because of staffing shortages, higher food prices, and a bad economy from COVID. Sister's Farmhouse Cafe quickly became a staple in Porter because of its home cooking and small-town feel. The owners said the closing is the last thing they want to do.

Sisters Judy Hiebert and Sharon Bratt are cleaning up and taking things down in their now-shuttered restaurant.

"Judy's husband said let's just build it, so we did!" Bratt said.

The two opened the cafe in May 2020, right after COVID hit. They said they dealt with struggles from the start, with weeks of drive-through only, and then when they finally opened their doors, they were overwhelmed with business.

"We were bombarded for the first few months, and then school started, and COVID got worse and worse," said Bratt. 

Sharon and Judy said they were working long hours, had a lot of trouble hiring anybody, and had to deal with product prices going up and up.

"It came down to, it's time to stop," said Bratt. "It was hard to tell the girls, you no longer have a job."

The restaurant was the only one in the whole town, and the sisters said their customers were loyal and everyone loved the home cooking. Many were at the restaurant every single day, sometimes two or three times a day.

"It kind of got to be like family," Hiebert said.

Sharon and Judy said they're not alone; all small businesses have taken a major hit, and it's been exhausting.

"If the economy had been better, and the COVID hasn't come, it would have been a different situation," said Bratt.

The owners said they are hopeful that somebody else will buy this building and open a new restaurant.