Casper's reopening 'imminent,' owner says

A year after its temporary closure to switch locations, the reopening of Casper's is "imminent," owner Shawn Kraft said this morning.

Kraft declined to project an opening date but said it would be "very soon."

"I'll be glad to get to the finish line," he said.

Kraft said the 937 S. Glenstone Ave. restaurant has passed city inspections, including examinations related to renovations of the building that formerly housed Anton’s Coffee Shop for nearly 50 years. Anton's closed in 2020.

Asked about his investment, Kraft said he has put "blood, sweat, tears, decades off the end of my life" into the project but declined to disclose financial figures.

When Casper's reopens, it will have 12-16 employees, including the workers of the former restaurant site, he said.

Kraft announced in May 2022 plans to relocate the business from its downtown Quonset hut, a building made of corrugated metal with a semicircular cross section. The restaurant started in a building on the site of the parking garage on Walnut Street west of the Landers Theatre in 1909, moved to a Quonset hut at Glenstone Avenue and Cherokee Street in 1948 and set up at the most recent Quonset hut, 601 W. Walnut St., in 1985, according to past reporting.

Casper's menu includes chili, Frito pie, burgers and sandwiches.