New Year’s Eve, the Yella Beak was open for business.

But on Jan. 2, anyone looking for a beer or meal were met with a small, handwritten orange sign saying the iconic Enumclaw establishment was “closed until further notice.”

However, Tracey Moore, who co-owns the building with Trevis Moore, said that the business will open again in a few months under new management after the establishment is given a facelift.

If you looked at the business’ Facebook page, it seemed nothing was out of the ordinary.

The page posted a holiday calendar on Dec. 23, advertising Christmas and New Year’s closures and that was open New Year’s Eve – just without poker.

Other posts made note of Monday night BINGO sessions, Sunday breakfasts (“It’s finally here!!!” that post read), and Saturday beer pong, and even a Jan. 3 food drive, indicating the intention of remaining open.

“Donate Today, each time you come for breakfast, Lunch or dinner bringing even one small item can help!” the post reads. “Yella Beak Saloon will be running this throughout the end of the year.”

There is no closure information on the official Facebook page, and Moore was just as surprised to hear that the business closed so suddenly, as the lease was not up until next June.

“It’s not fair to the community,” he said. “I don’t know why they did that.”

The lack of information has some people buzzing about the closure in some Enumclaw-focused community Facebook pages.

Some are lamenting the closure.

“Oh my gosh, no more bingo,” one post reads.

“I know!! Just after we started playing,” reads a reply.

“That’s so sad! That was the first bar I ever snuck into as a minor,” reads a third. “That place was the place to go before covid.”

Other people were unsurprised.

“When they followed the social distancing protocol everyone gave the middle finger and moved to seeders,” reads one. “They were also in need of a better DJ like they had 10 years ago to Keep people dancing. An authentic country line dancing bar would do good in Enumclaw.”

“There’s a national downward trend in alcohol consumption. I know the vineyards here in California are struggling to remarket the backlog of wine grapes and aging wine,” another post reads. “Same with the distilleries in other parts of the country as even moderate alcohol consumption is not see as a positive health benefit.”

But, perhaps most pressing, were the people concerned about what will happen with the gift cards they bought during the holidays.

“I hope [the closure] isn’t true. I purchased a gift card just before Christmas,” one person wrote.

“Me too. I bought one for my sister Christmas Eve,” another replied. “That’s pretty messed up that they would let people do that.”

Moore said he was unaware that gift cards were being sold right before the closure, but he pledged to figure out a way to “make it right” after verifying the purchases.

“The gift cards will be honored one way or another,” he continued. “… I will absolutely not let these people not having their gift cards honored.”

The Courier-Herald reached out to former Yella Beak owners Jim and Jason Comnick, but did not receive an immediate response.

The Comnicks re-opened the Yella Beak in 2023 and focused on new food; the couple put a smoker in the back to prepare different meats throughout the week and started serving breakfasts on weekends.