Lefty’s Taphouse and Pizza, a tavern and eatery here in Baker closed its doors on the evening of July 1, 2022. 1934 Broadway Street is a half block from the Main strip, beside the Club 24 gym.

Inside, a display of string lights and cozy tables among wood and historic brick. The ornate taps wall over a small bar, illuminated by a cut steel sign, owner Luke Sell’s pizza oven wafting sizzling pepperoni into the air. All over, baseball memorabilia, decals and souvenirs.

The band Bag Of Hammers struck up at 8 PM for the packed house as a final hoorah for the closing business. Throngs of customers enjoyed fresh slices and topped off beer glasses. With any luck the bash made enough money to springboard the owner’s next project.

Small-scale restaurants had been hit hard by the pandemic, many food industry workers made career changes, supply chain issues persist even now and waves of infection have changed the very landscape of the work.

Lefty’s had been operating as a family business since 2014, and made the venue a site of concerts, weddings and celebrations.

The closing party was hosted as the Taphouse’s ‘Final Home Series’ in keeping with the baseball motif. At time of reporting Sells was not available to confirm if they were moving on to another venue or future plans otherwise.