They changed the paint. They changed the name. They changed the menu. But the owners of the fifth restaurant to occupy the building at 302 N. Gilbert Road in Gilbert couldn't reverse the bad luck that has followed their predecessors over the past decade.

On Tuesday, the GrainBelt GrillHouse closed a little more than a year and a half after opening.

The building housing GrainBelt at the northwest corner of Page Avenue and Gilbert Road has developed a reputation among some locals, who say it's harboring some sort of bad voodoo, dooming anyone who dares start a business there.

"That's what they say - it's totally cursed," said Teri Gallatin, a server at the nearby Farm House Restaurant.

The building first opened as Mahogany Run in 1997.

Many restaurateurs who opened since then brought lofty ambitions with them, shrugging off any idea of a curse.

"We didn't come here to fail," said Marty Bertzyk before opening Hearthrob Cafe in late 2004.

That came to an end in early 2005.

Like many former restaurateurs at the site, Ben Berry - owner of Rock City Bar & Grill - blamed past failures on bad business decisions by previous owners.

"I really believe it has an incredible amount of potential regardless of what the previous restaurants were doing," he told the Tribune before opening Rock City in May 2005.

The restaurant closed about a year and a half later.

GrainBelt's owners were unreachable for comment on Thursday.

Gallatin said the underlying problems for GrainBelt were more earthly and mundane and not some sort of a spooky curse. She said the owners were struggling to turn a profit, and the rent was too high.

Debbie Cline and Lauren Hurdle, who worked across the street inside a bar called Champion's Sports Saloon, said GrainBelt was too fancy and expensive for local diners who are accustomed to local favorites like Joe's Real BBQ and Farm House Restaurant, which are located nearby.

"A place like that should be in Scottsdale," Cline said, before Hurdle cut in with "who wants to pay $12 for meatloaf?"

It was actually $13.95, according to a copy of the menu obtained by the Tribune.

The building, with its austere cinder block facade and outdoor torch lamps, contrasts with the rows of rustic-looking shops in the town's historic district, which looks like a movie set from an old cowboy film.

Andrea Eerdmans, a server at GrainBelt, said the owners were struggling to stay afloat, adding that the building's reputation haunted it and kept customers away.

"I think that they gave it a really good try," she said. "It's really disappointing that people didn't respond to it."

Gilbert development services director Greg Tilque said he was surprised to learn of GrainBelt's closing.

"There was no indication, and I had no idea," he said.

"A lot of people will try to point to a curse in the building and say it's not a good corner, but it's a good corner. Otherwise Joe's BBQ, Oregano's and Farm House wouldn't be doing the great business they are."