April 28th was a rough day for all Pennsylvanians who enjoyed ribs and pulled pork at Smokey Bones, the longtime chain that abruptly – and, unfortunately, permanently – closed all of its locations nationwide.
This is a real blow to Pennsylvania, which just lost six businesses and a whole lot of delicious food – and it’s the unfortunate end to a long, sad story.
How we got here
Many employees report that they only found out that they had lost their jobs the same day as the closure, which is just brutal.
Parent companies FAT Brands and Twin Hospitality Group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection back in January, with the hopes that restructuring their debt would buy time to dig out of the hole they were in.
Unfortunately, that clearly failed – and now it’s the end of the line for Smokey Bones.
Smokey Bones was launched in 1999 and grew to over 115 restaurants at its peak, so this was no fly-by-night operation. There was a real business that, unfortunately, gradually fell apart over the years.
I do wonder if the combination of input inflation (food prices are spiraling again), economic slowdowns tied to tariffs and the broader trade war, and of course gas prices at the pump ultimately proved to be too steep a hill to climb.
Impacted locations
Here’s a list of the restaurants that have closed in Pennsylvania:
- Cranberry Township: 1708 Route 228
- Erie: 2074 Interchange Road
- Greensburg: 100 Power Line Drive
- Reading: 2723 North Meridian Boulevard
- Tarentum: 1030 Pittsburgh Mills Boulevard
- York: 1301 Kenneth Road
Hopefully these parcels will be redeveloped soon so they aren’t a blight on the local towns.
And more importantly: Best wishes to all whose jobs were impacted. Your loyalty to and work for this once-beloved brand mattered, and I hope your next chapter is kinder than this one has been.
Let’s all join together to leave well-wishes for Smokey Bones’ former employees and to share any fond memories – leave your notes in the comments!
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