Future of Cowboy Jack’s Still Uncertain As Press Bar Owner Pleads Guilty

(KNSI) — Now that the owner of the former Press Bar and Parlor in Saint Cloud has pleaded guilty to one count of arson, the next question is what’s next for the nearby Cowboy Jack’s.

Saint Cloud Mayor Dave Kleis appeared on Ox in the Afternoon Friday and said the damage to the adjacent structure’s foundation is too great to repair. It is going to be torn down and rebuilt.

He says, “They’ve been working with their insurance company. It just makes more sense for them to demolish their building than it does to put the money into restoring that wall. They’ve made that determination. You know, it’s one of those things. You have an accident with your car, insurance goes, ‘It’s probably better if you total it rather than repair it.'”

Kleis says negotiations are ongoing with the owners of Cowboy Jack’s. He says the city has leverage due to the $160,000 assessment it has imposed on the property for previous clean-up costs. He says the owners have been great to work with, but it is unclear what the timeline will be for construction. Kleis says the city has no intention of letting the site sit for much longer in a state of disrepair.

“We don’t want to see a hole there. We don’t want to see a fence around it. We want to see the demolition and then we want to see either construction or if there’s not gonna be construction, we’d rather see some grass there until [it’s] time to do the development.”

Kleis says the green space could be installed by summer if it is needed.

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