JOINT STATEMENT FROM JUST A TASTE WEBB CITY AND OZARKS COMMUNITY HOSPITAL
CONTACT: Natalie Taylor-Moore, Director of Business Development
JUST A TASTE WEBB CITY TO CLOSE RESTAURANT OPERATIONS
Effective December 31, 2023, Just A Taste Webb City will close its restaurant operations, with the final day of dinner service on Saturday, December 23, 2023. Note: there are a few private events and the VSM First Friday ticketed event that will continue as planned. While there are many reasons that led to this decision, the bottom line is that we have discovered that we need to reprioritize and focus on what the true needs of the area are, as well as how our passions align with those needs.
Cardetti Heritage, the company which owns Just A Taste (JAT), has always been primarily a winery business. Over the past few years, Eric Taylor, the winemaker, has expanded winery production while developing a 10-acre vineyard in Salem, Missouri. Eric also became one of very few people in Missouri to receive his Advanced Sommelier certification. The restaurant operations diverted resources from the core business which is to produce, sell and serve wine.
As some people know, Ozarks Community Hospital (OCH), a nonprofit health system, has its corporate offices in the JAT Webb City facility. OCH will take over the event spaces and catering business in 2024. This move will provide financial support for the OCH mission – providing quality healthcare to people in communities throughout the Ozarks. OCH will also be launching these services in a new community facility on the hospital campus in Gravette, Arkansas. While the additional source of revenue is much needed for the safety-net health system, OCH believes that its ability to cater quality events will be an organic extension of its core mission to improve the lives of the people it serves. When you book an event at either facility, you will be directly supporting the ability to offer quality healthcare in the community.
Cardetti Heritage, doing business as Crooked Creek Cellars with its award-winning Eagles’ Landing wine label, will still be available to provide bar catering. We are working together on a plan that will allow the membership clubs to continue as part of the winery operation at the OCH facility, as well as ticketed musical and theatrical events, pop-up dining, and Paddy’s Pub experiences. Club members will be able to come in during set hours, where they will also be able to enjoy a limited menu of drinks and small bites. We will provide an update on logistics, as well as how you can become a member under the new structure of offerings.
The Event Center is currently booking for 2024 and has a variety of unique spaces that can be rented out for private events of all kinds. We offer both intimate spaces and large capacity events up to 300 people in our largest two-story venue. We will also be offering the ability for a full facility rent out, which opens up capacity and possibilities when hosting. If you are interested in booking an event, please send an email to kvasquez@ochonline.com with your inquiry.
###