09/13/2026
We get a lot of messages asking if we’re really closed or if it’s all just a joke. We also hear from people who would love to see us open in other locations.
The truth is, when you get burned by a town that you put your heart and soul into, it makes it very difficult to say, “Let’s do it again.”
We built Little Sahara Pizzeria & Pub with love. We put everything we had into it, and unfortunately, we felt very little support from the town. On top of that, dealing with a landlord who wanted us out for reasons that had nothing to do with the business made the situation even harder.
Do we miss Waynoka? Absolutely. We met some truly amazing people there, and those relationships will always mean something to us.
As for the people who hated us simply because they didn’t like us — honestly, we don’t care. We know what we put into that community and what we tried to accomplish.
It is heartbreaking to watch a town with so much potential continue to decline. If Waynoka wants to move forward, there needs to be a serious change in how the city approaches businesses and economic growth. You can’t say you’re “pro-business” while simultaneously making it difficult for businesses to survive and refusing to support the people who are willing to invest in your community.
And finally, to the businesses that operate strictly on cash, checks, or Venmo to avoid reporting income and paying taxes — shame on you. Small businesses already have enough challenges without competing against people who aren’t playing by the same rules.
We don’t know what the future holds. Maybe someday we’ll open another location. Maybe we won’t. But if we do, it will be somewhere that values the people willing to invest their time, money, heart, and soul into building something for the community.
Waynoka will always be part of our story. We just wish the ending had been different.
