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A BELOVED restaurant is closing the doors of its last location in one state.
Customers will soon be forced to head elsewhere for their favorite food and drinks.
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Shoney’s, a chain that competes with Denny’s and other all-day diner-style establishments, will close its only remaining location in Dover, Ohio, about 46 miles south of Akron, by October 20, per The Times Reporter.
The owner of the Dover Shoney’s, Nick Hussein, told the outlet that the closure came from his decision to reduce the number of restaurants he operates.
Currently, 25 employees work at the restaurant.
It will continue to operate seven days per week from 8 am to 4 pm on Monday through Friday and 7 am to 5 pm on Saturday and Sunday.
Several customers weren’t surprised by the shutdown confirmation.
“Shrinking and shrinking,” someone remarked of the Shoney’s brand in a post on Facebook about the Dover closure.
“It is unfortunate that the workers will lose their job.”
“Shoney’s has been crap for years,” another remarked.
STAYING ALIVE
Shoney’s will have just over 50 locations remaining across 13 states after the Dover shutdown on October 20, per its website.
The restaurants are currently located in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.
Its headquarters is located in Nashville, but the first Shoney’s opened back in 1947 in Charleston, West Virginia.
The company was purchased by entrepreneur David Davoudpour in 2007, who helped craft the Shoney’s restaurants customers see today.
Shoney’s is seemingly in decent shape with its remaining locations, but other companies have seen even more struggles this year.
DENNY’S DOOMED?
Denny’s confirmed it closed 25 locations in the spring, with 15 last quarter, and plans to shutter another 15, making for a total of 55 by year’s end.
Restaurant closures in 2024
BOSSES at major dining chains have announced a series of restaurant closures. The U.S. Sun has compiled a list of the chain’s affected.
- Cracker Barrel: Stores in Medford, Oregon, Columbia, South Carolina, and Sacramento, California, have closed.
- Mod Pizza: Bosses dramatically shuttered 27 shops in April, including some in the state of California.
- Frisch’s Big Boy: Restaurant chiefs confirmed the closure of a restaurant in Covington, Kentucky in April.
- Outback Steakhouse: The chain will shutter 41 ‘underperforming’ locations this year.
- Two Bucks: Four restaurants in Ohio closed in April.
- Chili’s: A restaurant in Port Arthur, Texas, has shut permanently as well as one in Irvine, California, and one in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.
- Friendly’s: Bosses confirmed an establishment in Ronkonkoma, Long Island will close.
- Pizza Hut: A restaurant in Glen Falls, New York, closed at the end of March, followed by four in Ohio in June and 15 in Indiana. This was followed in July by a bankruptcy filing from its parent company which announced the closure of 150 locations.
- Carl’s Jr.: The first Boise, Idaho location has closed.
- In-N-Out: An Oakland location closed earlier in the year due to crime in the area.
- Cheesecake Factory: The chain is set to shutter a location in Memphis, Tennessee in July.
- Applebee’s: Announced the closure of between 25 and 35 locations this year.
- Red Lobster: The seafood chain filed for bankruptcy in May and shuttered over 100 locations.
- Taco John’s: Shuttered a restaurant in Minnesota and put the building up for sale in May.
- Frisco’s Chicken: The poultry restaurant shuttered all of its locations over the summer
- Rubio’s Coastal Grill: Has announced the closure of 48 locations in California after filing for bankruptcy.
- Burger King: Shuttered a location in California in June after 30 years.
- Foster’s Freeze: Shuttered a location in California after five decades in business due to financial struggles.
- Chicken Salad Chick: After nine years the restaurant shuttered one location in Jacksonville, Florida, with no reason given.
- México Lindo: The New York City-based restaurant announced its final day after 52 years and finally shuttered its doors for good on July 31.
- American Dream Pizza: Closed all of its locations in Oregon in July.
- Tender Greens: The Southern California-based chain filed for bankruptcy.
- Lefty’s Famous Cheesesteaks, Hoagies, & Grill: Abruptly shuttered 18 locations in July due to a family feud.
- Firehouse Subs: Shuttered a location in the Tri-Cities area of Washington State over the summer citing “unforeseen circumstances”
- Taco Time: The Taco Bell rival shuttered a location in Seattle after 50 years following a death in the franchise owner’s family.
- Burgerim: Shuttered a location in Burlington, Massachusetts in July, reigniting bankruptcy fears from 2020.
- Denny’s: The chain has shuttered over 40 locations so far this year with the owner of the one outlet blaming vandalism.
- Starbucks: The chain shuttered one of its most iconic locations in New York City after almost three decades with fans blaming crime. It also lost a location in Seattle.
- Subway: In August, the sandwich chain shuttered over 20 locations across the US and Canada after a franchisee lost money after being a victim of fraud.
- IHOP: A restaurant in New Hampshire shut its doors after 24 years, leaving four locations in the state.
- Switchback Coffee Roasters: The popular chain filed for bankruptcy in August after over a decade in business.
- Jimmy John’s: The sandwich shop chain shuttered a location in Nevada on August 19 after 12 years citing overexpansion issues.
- KFC: Closed the remaining three locations in Rockford, Illinois all on the same day on August 19. In total, it closed six locations across four cities in Illinois.
- Rusty Bucket: The chicken shop chain confirmed it would officially leave Florida as it announced a handful of closures including in Sarasota and Ohio.
- Buca di Beppo: The Olive Garden rival abruptly shuttered 44 locations across five states before filing for bankruptcy.
- Red Robin: Announced the closure of its Ashburn, Virginia location on August 25 after 15 years in business.
- Noodles & Company: Shuttered dozens of locations due to their contribution to around $2 million worth of losses.
- Shoney’s: The classic American-style food chain founded in 1947 officially exited Ohio after three decades of business as it reduced its operational footprint.
- Homegrown: The sandwich chain based in Seattle announced the closure of 10 locations leaving 150 employees in the lurch.
- World of Beer: Filed for bankruptcy after closing 14 outlets.
- Arby’s: The chain announced a number of closures this year including in Lexington, Kentucky, Akron, Ohio,
- Uno Pizzeria & Grill: Shuttered a location in New Jersey in July, leaving just two in the state, followed by the closure of a Baltimore location in August.
- Hart House: Shutterd all four locations in California in September just two years after the vegan fast-food restaurant chain was launched by actor and comedian Kevin Hart.
It also closed 57 restaurants in 2023.
CFO Robert Verostek cited Denny’s struggles with inflation and its continued attempt to recover from the height of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.
Red Lobster even notably filed for bankruptcy in May and confirmed plans to close over 100 locations by the end of 2024.
Hawkers Asian Street Food, which operates just 15 locations in seven states, also filed for Chapter 11, blaming a “takeover plot” by a lender.
Noodles & Company also said that 20 of its 475 locations were to blame for about $20 million in losses, and it planned to close about a dozen restaurants as a result.
