This has been a time of change for the bar. Chris Sassenberg, co-owner of the business and Robin Sassenberg’s husband, died last November at the age of 73.
“I’m the only owner left,” Robin Sassenberg said. “I have cancer. I’m on chemo. My husband died. I have heart problems. And I don’t have anybody to hand this off to.”
There have been conversations, but so far, a new buyer has not emerged, she said.
This was not an easy decision. To keep cancer at bay, it helps to keep stress down, Sassenberg said. She felt she had to make changes.
“We have 30 years of history,” she said, pausing a moment to collect her thoughts. “With some staff who have been here almost the whole time. Some customers who have been here the whole time.”
In 1995, Chris and Robin purchased the Trolley Stop. Chris originally planned to run the tavern but due to financial concerns he returned to the medical field and Robin began operating the business. He retired in 2018 from Grandview Hospital as an orthopedic surgical nurse.
The bar looms large in Oregon District memories of good times — and in recent tragic history, as well. After the August 2019 mass shootings in that neighborhood, Trolley Stop patrons recalled how employees and customers on that Saturday night locked the door to the bar after hearing gunfire reverberate on Fifth Street.
Credit: Tom Gilliam
Credit: Tom Gilliam
“For goodness’ sake, somebody else could come in here and make it great again,” Robin said.
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