Grygla business closed its doors for good last Sunday, January 1st

Patrons stopped by the local bar & grill for one last time on Saturday, December 31st, when the bar hosted a New Year’s Eve party, complete with free juke box and drink specials.

“I’m feeling a lot of different emotions right now,” says owner Denise Ostby. “I feel sad, yet I feel relieved.” Ostby is one of four owners of the local liquor establishment. Diamond’s is currently owned by Ostby, Sherri Hagen, Steve Anderson and Betty Ostby. Its legal name, Diamond D’s, Incorporated, was built from the ground up in 1997. Then owners, Shannon & Denise Ostby, along with Tommy & Denise Ostby, purchased the business before it was destroyed by a fire and rebuilt into the structure that stands today. The original building that had stood since the beginning of Grygla had housed a number of businesses including a café, drug store, pastry shop and bar. Some of the owners throughout earlier years included Carl & Helen Peterson, Jim Boman and Duane & Diane Lillevold. What was once called “Peterson’s” and “Diamond Jim’s” became recognizably known as “Diamond D’s, Incorporated.”

Though 2017 marks its 20th year of business, the decision to close the doors has been looming in the air for quite some time. Ostby says it has just gotten to be too much work. All of the business owners work full-time jobs, and due to an extreme lack of help, most of them have had to pick up multiple shifts, spreading themselves much too thin. “It’s just gotten to be too much and help has been impossible to find,” offered Ostby. The decision to close the doors was made by the group about a month ago. Diamond’s has been ‘for sale’ for the last five years, being listed with three separate realtors, but no such luck on obtaining a new buyer. The establishment is now listed ‘for sale by owner.’ Interested parties can contact Ostby at 218-686-1714 for more information. She adds, “We would consider ‘contract for deed’ for the right buyer.”

As for the inventory inside the building, no decisions have yet to be made. No orders had been placed the last few weeks so the supplies were getting down there; the owners were hopeful that the remaining goods would sell by the time the doors closed. 

As mentioned, one last bash was planned over the weekend with Diamond’s throwing one last New Year’s Eve party. There were drink specials throughout the night, along with free juke box. The party went until 1 am when the doors officially closed for business.