Bye Bye Smokey Bones

It appears Darden, the owners of Olive Garden, Red Lobster and Smokey Bones has pulled the trigger on poor old Smokey. I wonder where the burial will be? I do hope it will be nowhere near where lobsters roam or in an olive garden. That would be too much of an insult for poor old Smokey. May your Smokey Bones rest in peace.

Now the out of business Corky's in Atlanta (Gwinett) will have a matching out of business next door neighbor.

That's a good start. Now, if they will only pull the plug on Olive Garden and Red Lobster...

quote:

Originally posted by Greyghost

It appears Darden, the owners of Olive Garden, Red Lobster and Smokey Bones has pulled the trigger on poor old Smokey. I wonder where the burial will be? I do hope it will be nowhere near where lobsters roam or in an olive garden. That would be too much of an insult for poor old Smokey. May your Smokey Bones rest in peace.

Yes, I read it in "Nations Restaurant News" that I subscribe to.
Most of them will be rebranded as "Rocky River Grillhouses"...

I understand the disdain for Smokeys, Olive Garden and Red Lobster - but when one of these closes it also means people are out of a job. It would be wonderful if a mom and pop place took its place. However, we all know the reality is that it's tougher and tougher for small restaurants to start up and keep alive in the growing competition of casual dining. So, while on the one hand it's reassuring to know that people won't accept on a large scale crappy BBQ, it's never a good thing when people lose their jobs. In this case though, it seems like they're just changing their name.

That's valuable information. Based on some things I've read here I had Smokey Bones in the back of my mind as an option if we're stuck in the outer burbs someday.

Not if they're on the skids, I won't.

Cant say it is the case nationwide but around my neck of the woods ( VA ) it seems BBQ places have never done well. Years back I remember one place ( chain? ) called Carolina Blue. That was gone within a year.

Memphis BBQ opened up a year later and had plans to expand all over the area. Not only did that NOT happen but Memphis closed their first and only location here, this time in less than one year.

Right now we have Red, Hot, and Blue. Still around but even I have noticed they aren't as busy as they once were and also the ads I have seen/heard somehwat downplayed the BBQ.

Don't forget that a lot of the quality of a chain store is how well the particular location is run. Ours here is Wilkes-Barre is overall pretty decent; not great, but definitely recognizable as bbq. Especially since other local alternatives are hit & miss.


Tom

Smokey Bones was voted best BBQ in Pittsburgh last year in a reader's poll. That should tell you how barbecue deprived we are up here. I went to my local one about a half dozen times, mostly because I knew they would have the game on. Hopefully, someplace better will move in.

They are closing 56 restaurants and are putting the remaining 73 up for sale.

quote:

Originally posted by ellen4641

quote:

Originally posted by Greyghost

It appears Darden, the owners of Olive Garden, Red Lobster and Smokey Bones has pulled the trigger on poor old Smokey. I wonder where the burial will be? I do hope it will be nowhere near where lobsters roam or in an olive garden. That would be too much of an insult for poor old Smokey. May your Smokey Bones rest in peace.

Yes, I read it in "Nations Restaurant News" that I subscribe to.
Most of them will be rebranded as "Rocky River Grillhouses"...

Not any more, they pulled the plug on the rocky river grillhouses before they ever got started.

quote:

Originally posted by chriscubva

Cant say it is the case nationwide but around my neck of the woods ( VA ) it seems BBQ places have never done well. Years back I remember one place ( chain? ) called Carolina Blue. That was gone within a year.

Memphis BBQ opened up a year later and had plans to expand all over the area. Not only did that NOT happen but Memphis closed their first and only location here, this time in less than one year.

Right now we have Red, Hot, and Blue. Still around but even I have noticed they aren't as busy as they once were and also the ads I have seen/heard somehwat downplayed the BBQ.

I live in VA too (Arlington). There is also Famous Dave's, which I don't care for as much as Red, Hot & Blue. The R H & Blues outside the Beltway, in towns like Warrenton and Leesburg, always seem to be hopping. But mostly with families. These places aren't known for their large bars, unlike Outback, Applebee's and Fridays.

quote:

Originally posted by CajunKing

quote:

Originally posted by ellen4641

quote:

Originally posted by Greyghost

It appears Darden, the owners of Olive Garden, Red Lobster and Smokey Bones has pulled the trigger on poor old Smokey. I wonder where the burial will be? I do hope it will be nowhere near where lobsters roam or in an olive garden. That would be too much of an insult for poor old Smokey. May your Smokey Bones rest in peace.

Yes, I read it in "Nations Restaurant News" that I subscribe to.
Most of them will be rebranded as "Rocky River Grillhouses"...

Not any more, they pulled the plug on the rocky river grillhouses before they ever got started.

They just spent the last 2 months converting our Smokey Bones to RRG only to close it before it got a chance to open. I believe it was scheduled to open in 2 weeks.

In the Greater Cincinnati area, they also owned a Bahama Breeze franchise. My "heresay" knowledge is that all employees were working their normal shifts, and were asked to come in on a Sunday for an "employee meeting".

When they came in for the meeting, the employees were informed that the franchise was closed for good, effective immediately.

I know this a regular "restaurant industry" practice, but it is still pretty crappy. Darden owns Olive Garden and Red Lobster. It would be nice if they offered them jobs in their other holdings, but they didn't.

According to their website, whenever possible, Smokey Bones (ex)-employees will be offered jobs at Olive Garden and Red Lobster.

Just drove past the one closest to me and they are still open. Not only that, they were as crowded as I have ever seen them.

Here's a list of the closed/closing restaurants: http://www.smokeybones.com/closed_restaurants.asp

Brad

Looks like the one closest to me is still open (Robinson PA). I'm actually happy about it. As buffetbuster stated, we're pretty deprived up here of actual BBQ.

quote:

Originally posted by tkitna

Looks like the one closest to me is still open (Robinson PA). I'm actually happy about it.

As I like to say, if you're happy, I'm happy....

Oddly enough, most of the ones I might have ended up at are still open (and that should give you an idea of the state of BBQ in Southeastern New England ). So, I say thanks again for the info. Life is definitely too short to eat at dying chains.

The one by me on Miamisburg-Centerville Road (OH 725) south of Dayton closed. I found out when I had the oil changed in my car today. It was open less than a month ago. The funny thing is the fact that there are at least two signs outside saying the following:

PLEASE VISIT
(City Barbeque logo)
DOWNTOWN CENTERVILLE

One was near the door and the other in the parking lot near the driveway entrance.

City Barbeque, by the way, is a chain of eleven barbeque joints, most of which are in central Ohio. They are on the Web at http://cityqbbq.com/.

Well the San Antonio Express News had today in their food section that the Smokey Bones on USHWy 281 has closed.Wish I could have ate least tried it as they had some coupons in Sunday's paper.