By Kathryn Reed

Once one of the busiest restaurant and bars on the South Shore, the Fresh Ketch has closed.

As one of the few South Lake Tahoe eateries right on the water, its location was always one of its biggest selling points.

While the message on the voice recorder says it will reopen in mid-April, doing so in shoulder season could be problematic to be successful.

Business at the Ketch has been dwindling ever since it changed owners nearly five years ago. The food quality became inconsistent, the hours of operation cutback, a water issue closed it for a bit last summer.

There was a time when it was hard to get a seat — inside or out. Musicians regularly set up next to the fireplace. The pray for snow parties each fall were legendary.

Longtime owner Bob Hassett in 2013 sold the restaurant to the majority owners of the Tahoe Keys Marina, Donna and Robert Krilich. The El Dorado County Assessor’s Office at the time listed the value of the property and business at $1,224,913.

The Krilichs bought the Tahoe Keys Marina in early 2009 for more than $20 million.

Donna Krilich had a separate business listed with the California Secretary of State as LT Food and Spirits, which reportedly operated the restaurant. The status is listed as suspended.

The Tahoe Keys Marina Management Inc., with Robert Krilich Sr. as the registrant, is also listed as suspended by the Franchise Tax Board.

According to the Sacramento Real Estate Lawyer Blog, “The FTB usually suspends a business either because the business failed to file one or more tax returns or the business failed to pay its balance. This balance can include the penalty incurred by not filing your Statement of Information in a timely manner.”

The restaurant has been in operation since at least the 1980s, and was popular with locals and tourists.