LAKE PARK — Several dozen customers packed the interior and outside deck of the Lake Dogs eatery at the edge of Lake Park Tuesday. 

They won’t be able to do that for much longer.

The decades-old restaurant at the intersection of Lakes Boulevard and U.S. 41 will close Dec. 31, said Billy Don and Donna Weldon, owners.

This will be the second long-time restaurant Lowndes County will have lost in less than two weeks. On Dec. 24, Michael’s Deli in Valdosta closed due to difficulties getting enough staff to stay open in COVID-19 pandemic times.

The Weldons said staffing was not the issue with Lake Dogs’ demise. Instead, the landlord has refused to renew their lease, they said.

“We didn’t own the land or the building,” Billy Don Weldon said. “We own all the equipment, though, and we have to figure out what to do with that.”

The Weldons have owned the eatery for five years. Donna Weldon said Linda Hogan opened it in 2001.

“The restaurant’s been packed,” she said. “People are upset.”

Lake Dogs’ 12 employees are losing their jobs, Billy Don said. The Weldons said they plan to retire.

Tuesday, several lawmen, including deputies from Lowndes and Echols sheriff’s offices, were on hand for lunch.

One of those lawmen was Lowndes County Sheriff Ashley Paulk.

“The Weldons have been friends of mine for 40 years,” he said. “This place is a local legend, in my opinion. … It’s hard to beat their slaw dog.”

Paulk said many deputies eat at Lake Dogs because it is close to the sheriff’s office’s firing training range.

Stanley Bronson, a regular customer for four years who lives near the state line between Statenville and Jennings, Florida, was also on hand.

“It’s bad,” he said. “It’s a great place to eat, everybody’s friendly, great food … well, it is what it is.”

Terry Richards is senior reporter at The Valdosta Daily Times.