Smokey Bones is closing stores: See a list of shuttered locations as another restaurant chain faces a bleak fate

Smokey Bones Bar & Fire Grill, the once-popular barbecue casual-dining restaurant chain, has reportedly abruptly closed all of its remaining locations.

The closures suggest a bleak fate for the nearly 30-year-old BBQ brand and come just months after both its direct owner, Twin Hospitality Group, and that company’s parent, FAT Brands, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Here’s what you need to know.

What’s happened?

Numerous local media outlets across the country have reported that their Smokey Bones restaurants abruptly and permanently closed yesterday, April 28.

Those reports include ones from Indiana’s WANE 15, Pennsylvania’s TribLive, and Rhode Island’s 10 WJAR.

Most of the reports cite similar scenes of customers or employees showing up at their local Smokey Bones only to find it locked and a notice of closure posted on the door.

A photo of one such closure notice on a store in Indiana, posted by WANE 15, reads: “We regret to announce that this location has permanently closed its doors as of Tuesday, April 28th. We thank our loyal Guests for many wonderful years.”

A Fast Company review of the Smokey Bones’s website store locator tool also shows that the business hours for every listed location are now marked as “closed” for every day of the week. The store locator lists restaurants in 15 states.

It is not clear if all these closures are permanent. Fast Company has reached out to FAT Brands for comment.

Beyond the altered store hours on the chain’s website and the fliers posted in the locations’ windows, it does not appear that Smokey Bones, its owner, Twin Hospitality Group, or its parent company, FAT Brands, have made a public statement about the closures.

Smokey Bones owners filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January

While the abrupt store closures may come as a surprise to patrons still showing up at their locations, it is less of a surprise to those familiar with the financial situations of Smokey Bones’s owners.

The BBQ restaurant is directly owned by Twin Hospitality Group, which itself is a subsidiary of FAT Brands, the company that also owns Fatburger, Great American Cookies, Round Table Pizza, and more.

As Fast Company previously reported, FAT Brands sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January.

The company said it was undergoing bankruptcy in order “to strengthen our capital structure to support our concepts and ensure they remain at the forefront of their sectors.”

In January, a FAT Brands subsidiary and the direct owner of Smokey Bones, Twin Hospitality Group, also filed for Chapter 11.

At the same time, FAT Brands announced that it closed more than a dozen of its brands’ underperforming locations, but said that it expects its other restaurants to continue operating as normal.

Now, it appears, at least for Smokey Bones, those plans have changed.

In March, Nation’s Restaurant News reported that FAT Brands was preparing a sale of all or part of its assets. And according to a court filing just this week, FAT Brands has indeed found a successful bidder, as well as a backup bidder.

Which Smokey Bones locations have closed?

As of yesterday, April 28, it appears that FAT Brands has shuttered all remaining Smokey Bones locations.

That’s according to the company’s website, which lists 31 locations in 15 states. However, some of those locations may have shut their doors before yesterday. 

The full list of locations that Smokey Bones has on its website includes:

Florida

• 2693 Gulf to Bay Blvd., Clearwater, FL 33759
• 1510 W. New Haven Ave., Melbourne, FL 32904
• 303 N. Alafaya Tr., Orlando, FL 32828

Georgia

• 5555 Whittelsey Blvd., Columbus, GA 31907
• 2930 Stonecrest Circle, Lithonia, GA 30038

Illinois

• 2660 S. Dirksen Pkwy., Springfield, IL 62703

Indiana

• 1203 Apple Glen Blvd., Fort Wayne, IN 46804

Kentucky

• 2450 Scottsville Rd., Bowling Green, KY 42104

Maryland

• 15209 Major Lansdale Blvd., Bowie, MD 20715

Massachusetts

• 1023 County Road, Taunton, MA 02780
• 431 Middlesex Rd., Tyngsboro, MA 01879

Michigan

• 2401 Lake Lansing Road, Lansing, MI 48912

New York

• 1557 Central Avenue, Colonie, NY 12205
• 4036 State Route 31, Liverpool, NY 13090
• 5012 Express Drive South, Ronkonkoma, NY 11779

North Carolina

• 3302 W Gate City Blvd, Greensboro, NC 27407

Ohio

• 6744 Miller Lane, Dayton, OH 45414
• 1615 Stringtown Road, Grove City, OH 43123
• 7725 Reynolds Road, Mentor, OH 44060
• 2200 Baltimore Reynoldsburg Rd., Reynoldsburg, OH 43068
• 9484 Civic Centre Blvd., West Chester, OH 45069

Pennsylvania

• 1708 Route 228, Cranberry Township, PA 16066
• 2074 Interchange Rd., Erie, PA 16565
• 100 Power Line Drive, Greensburg, PA 15601
• 2723 N. Meridian Blvd., Reading, PA 19610
• 1030 Pittsburgh Mills Blvd., Tarentum, PA 15084
• 1301 Kenneth Road, York, PA 17404

Rhode Island

• 31B Universal Blvd., Warwick, RI 02886

Tennessee

• 1905 N. Roan Street, Johnson City, TN 37601

Virginia

• 1405 Greenbrier Parkway, Chesapeake, VA 23320
• 4590 Virginia Beach Blvd., Virginia Beach, VA 23462

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