Payne City neighborhood eatery closes; name and use to change

Twang Southern Taste & Sounds is closed as a restaurant but its name and use will change.

The eatery, which has been in the Payne City neighborhood nearly four years, didn’t reopen this week, said Tori Jennings, who co-owned the business with her husband, Jerry Jennings, and business partner Paul Findlay.

Twang had been operating on a month-to-month lease since this summer, and there are several reason the business closed, she said. Findlay had moved to Atlanta to take a new job, and both Tori and Jerry Jennings have other full-time jobs.

“We weren’t ready to leave our jobs,” she said. “We just decided we are moving to new endeavors in our personal lives that we are not ready to announce publicly yet. … It was perfect timing.”

The owner of the building, Billy Bagwell, who also owns Payne Mill Village Antique Mall, wanted the Twang owners to buy the building or renew a long-term lease, “and we weren’t ready for that,” she said.

Since several parties and events had been booked ahead into next year, Jennings said that Bagwell “decided to take over the business and rename it The Foundry. It won’t be a restaurant, but it will be a catering company and event space. ... So they have taken over all our commitments.”

“It was just a blessing that it all came together when it did,” she said.

Twang had about 15-20 employees, and Jennings said she was grateful for the support of the management and staff over the years.

“We would not have been able to do it while working other jobs without them,” she said.

Tori Jennings is a senior sales executive with Cumulus Radio and her husband is director of sales and marketing for Wayne Reaves Dealer Management Software.

“It’s been fun, but we are ready to pass the torch,” she said.

This story was originally published November 17, 2016 at 4:25 PM with the headline "Payne City neighborhood eatery closes; name and use to change."