BozWellz closes in Storm Lake after 31 years, owner cites health

BozWellz served its final meals on May 15, closing the doors at 507 Erie St. after 31 years in Storm Lake. Owner Cindy Bosley said the shutdown was driven by her health, ending one of the city’s most familiar gathering places and leaving a clear gap in downtown foot traffic.

Bosley opened BozWellz on Feb. 6, 1995, after finishing her Buena Vista University classwork in December 1994, buying the restaurant site and contents a month later, and turning the building into a long-running Erie Street anchor. The restaurant reached its 30-year mark on Feb. 6, 2025, when Storm Lake United marked the anniversary with coffee, cookies and specials at the restaurant.

For Bosley, the business became much more than a place to serve lunch and dinner. She said the restaurant became a family, and the decision to tell employees it was closing carried a heavy emotional cost. Multiple sclerosis and recent complications made it harder to manage the physical demands and stress of daily restaurant work, especially after years of scaling back some activities because of the disease.

The closing also ends a tradition that drew people together far beyond the normal dinner crowd. BozWellz’s annual Thanksgiving “Caring is Sharing” meal began in 2011 as a free community dinner for people who were isolated, had no transportation or could not afford a holiday meal. In some years, Bosley said the event served more than 700 people, and Storm Lake Radio noted that in other years the meal topped 1,000 diners. That kind of turnout made the restaurant a holiday destination as much as a business.

BozWellz built its regular following on more than nostalgia. The restaurant’s menu featured Reubens, pork tenderloins, steaks, seafood, nachos, homemade cheesecake and other desserts, and Bosley’s pies and specialty cakes had their own loyal customers. Some regulars came in for nothing more than a slice. The building also carried a “Wall of Fame” that tracked three decades of staff and customers, including people who later died, turning the dining room into a kind of community archive.

The building, which includes the restaurant, prep kitchen and upstairs apartment, is being sold as is. Bosley said she hopes someone else will bring life back to the space. She may continue baking from her home kitchen, but no final decision has been made. The closure removes a longtime employer, a steady stop for Erie Street traffic and one of Storm Lake’s most recognizable independent businesses, while also underscoring how health, staffing, ownership transitions and changing demands can reshape downtown life.