28 August 2023
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – Residents in Pratt are still feeling the loss of a very popular local restaurant and bar that caught fire earlier this month. On Sunday the community rallied in support with a lunchtime fundraiser that included hamburgers and hot dogs to raise money for employees who lost their jobs to the flames.
Woody’s Sports Bar and Grill has been a staple in Pratt since it opened in the 1980s, according to Pratt residents.
Now, the building that used to hold so many memories is empty and boarded up.
On Sunday, the community came together to help the staff that helped make the restaurant so loved.
In the overnight hours of Aug. 3, employees at Woody’s Sports Bar and Grill went to bed unaware of the rude awakening to come.
“I got the call in the middle of the night at 1:30 in the morning that Woody’s was up in flames,” said Woody’s employee Deandra Reynolds, who attended the fundraiser. “I was like ‘I have to go see, I have to go see, that’s my second home.'”
Reynolds worked at Woody’s for nine years. Her coworkers included many of her closest friends and her daughter.
“Without it it’s… I feel like people are kind of lost,” Reynolds said. “I know I am lost.”
“If you were ever in there, the memorabilia in that business is gone, that you will never see again,” said Christy Landis, who organized the Friends of Woody’s fundraiser. “It’s ashes now.”
Seeing long-time customers and coworkers at Sunday’s fundraiser was a bittersweet experience for Reynolds.
“I mean I’ve cried a few times seeing people that I haven’t seen, and it’s hard not to see them anymore,” Reynolds said.
Regulars at the restaurant now have to change routine because it’s closed.
“We did go to Woody’s at least on a weekly basis… particularly on Sunday morning after church,” said Jeanette Siemens, a customer at Woody’s. “Woody’s was just, you knew everybody and everybody knew you.”
Organizers say all the money raised this weekend will be split among Woody’s employees.