PARKERSBURG – A south-side eatery recently closed after three-and-a-half decades in business and a brief name change.

The Rax restaurant that opened on Blizzard Drive in 1980 operated for about five weeks as Oliver’s Roast Beef and Barbecue until it closed Feb. 3. Giving up the franchise was a cost-saving move, owner Bill Hess said, but ultimately it wasn’t enough to keep the operation afloat.

“Business has been really slow,” said Hess, who owned the restaurant for about a decade. “I lost school lunch several years ago, and it’s just added up over the years.”

Hess said he understands the decision Wood County Schools made to eliminate open lunch periods in 2008. But that doesn’t change the reality for Hess, who estimated the revenue lost to that change has totaled more than $300,000.

And that hasn’t been the only challenge.

“Each time minimum wage went up, it cost me $10,000 a year,” said Hess, who added he already tried to operate with as lean a staff as possible.

Ten people were working for Oliver’s when the restaurant closed, Hess said. He said he was hoping to make it through the winter and add some new menu items in the spring, but it just didn’t work out.

“I think maybe even taking down the Rax sign … hurt the sales,” Hess said.

At one time, Hess served as a district manager, overseeing 14 Rax locations in places from Charleston to Springfield, Ohio. In 2006, with other locations closing, he purchased the south Parkersburg store.

Parkersburg Mayor Jimmy Colombo said he was sorry to see the restaurant close. Although it was part of the Rax franchise, he said it had the feel of an independent establishment.

“We not only lose another local-type restaurant, but we lose some very nice people doing business over there,” Colombo said.