In Anoka, a community is united in the ongoing search for beloved bartender Brandon Stott.

Stott, 40, hasn’t been seen in nearly a week. There were no signs of foul play as of Monday, according to Anoka Police Chief Andy Youngquist, who added that police and many people who know Stott are concerned for his welfare.

Stott’s absence is felt throughout waterholes all along the Main Street corridor, where his picture is plastered on many windows.

“I’m just waiting for him to come in and tell me he’s bored, wants to play darts,” close friend and Danno’s Ibiza West bartender Alexis Guyer said to a customer on Monday afternoon.

“He’s really one of the good ones,” Guyer said, sitting for an interview with 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS.

“I just want to make sure he’s okay.”

Guyer said Stott is a staple at Danno’s Ibiza West, where she’s gotten to know him over the past few years.

“I mean, this town, you can tell, has shifted a little bit,” she said.

“As much as we’ve come together, it’s just not the same. There’s something missing, and I think just the unknown is what we’re struggling with.”

Stott is a bartender and manager at the nearby 201 Tavern & Grill, where he’s loved by coworkers and patrons alike, said restaurant co-owner Gloria Nelson.

“He’s a bartender and long-term employee, but you know, he’s like incredible man,” Nelson said. “He’s a veteran, and just one of those staple people that, you know, you meet him once and you remember him.”

Stott was last seen on Tuesday at 201 Tavern & Grill, according to police. He stopped in on his off day, and that was out of the ordinary, Nelson said.

“He was a little bit more emotional that day,” she said.

Two days later, he didn’t show up for work, and that “just kind of rang alarm bells immediately for me,” Nelson said.

“Because that’s just very out of character. I mean, it’s never once happened where he would, for one, be late, and for two, just not show up and then not answer his phone, you know. If something would come up, you know, he’d text me or call me or let someone know that there was something wrong. It was just so out of character.”

Nelson said she called police about 15 minutes later, and officers went to Stott’s home for a welfare check and did not find him there.

“…Which was a relief, you know, in a sense of, he’s not injured,” she said. “But then, it just became a bigger mystery. Where is he?”

By Sunday, a sea of searchers came together in town. 300-500 people were united in worry and in the search effort, Nelson reported. Hours later, nothing turned up.

“I want to praise the Anoka Police Department. I mean, they are doing everything possible,” she said.

“So we just got to have the hope of that, you know, there’s an explanation for this, and we’re going to find him.”

Speaking directly to her friend, Guyer said, “Brandon, you are so missed, and you’re never alone. It’s crushed a lot of us, and we just hope that you’re okay, you’re safe.”

“You can just let us know something, anything. We will always be here for you,” she continued.

“We truly love him; we all do.”

Stott is described as 6’3′ tall and 237 pounds.

Police were continuing to follow up on leads on Monday and have a water search planned with other agencies on Tuesday, Chief Youngquist said.

If you have any information that could help authorities locate Stott, police request you contact the Anoka Police Department at 763-427-1212.