'With a heavy heart,' Yellowknife's Lenny Burger to close barely 5 months after opening

After little more thanfive months in business, Yellowknife restaurant The Lenny Burgerwill beclosing its doors.

The sudden announcementwas made on the restaurant's Facebook page.

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"It is with a heavy heart, and after much consideration that we have decided to close our doors for good on June 10th," the Facebook post stated.

"There were many circumstances to consider, and unfortunately as owners, plans for the future as well as other factors had changed."

In his post, owner Matthew Jason saidthe decision was not an easy one to make. He saida bigfactor in the decision boiled down to wanting to feature organic products.

"Unfortunately we've had to accept that it will never be feasible or almost possible to go the organic natural route with our products. And that is what we set out for so we decided it is not in our interest or conscience to go forward," Jason said in a post.

A year in the making

It took over a year for the restaurant to open last December. The lounge side of the restaurant never materialized, leaving the restaurant toservetake-out only.

The announcement received dozens of comments on The Lenny Burger Facebook page, mostly from customers expressing disbelief at the news.

Customer Pauline Miller said she enjoyed the convenience of the downtown location, where she occasionally treated herself on pay days.

"It's kind of a shame," Miller said.

"People really seemed to like it. They put a lot of work into it and it's just sad to see it close so soon."

The news also comes as a shock to local resident Janet Pacey. She saidshe will miss the chicken and pike bites especially.

"I'm really sad about itThey put a ton work into fixing up the building and creating a whole new brand and getting the word out there and I feel bad for them that another northern business has not done so great," Pacey said.

The company thanked Yellowknife and N.W.T. residents for their "unbelievable support."