Smokey Bones BBQ, once a heavyweight in the casual dining ring, is taking a hard hit with another round of closures.
According to the Daily Mail, the chain, a direct competitor to the beleaguered TGI Fridays, is shuttering nine locations and converting roughly 15 others into Twin Peaks sports bar-style joints, shrinking its footprint to just around 45 spots while the broader casual dining sector continues to crumble.
Let’s rewind to the beginning: Smokey Bones fired up its grills in 1999 under the ownership of Darden Restaurants, the folks behind Olive Garden.
At its peak, this BBQ joint boasted over 130 locations across the country, promising good food, drinks, and times.
But the smoke started clearing in 2007 when Darden sold the chain to Barbeque Integrated, Inc., an affiliate of Sun Capital Partners, for a cool $80 million.
By 2010, the then-68-unit chain rolled out a multi-million-dollar redesign across all spots, hoping to rekindle the flame, but financial woes loomed as Sun Capital struggled with other failing brands like Friendly’s and Bar Louie, both of which filed for bankruptcy multiple times.
Fast forward to 2021, and Smokey Bones’ parent company snapped up Twin Peaks, marking the start of a downward spiral for the BBQ brand.
By 2023, the chain was sold off again, this time to Fat Brands for a bargain-basement $30 million, a far cry from its earlier valuation.
Unfortunately, Fat Brands hasn’t fared much better, posting a 6.5% revenue drop in the first quarter of this year, signaling more turbulence ahead for Smokey Bones.
Now, with nine closures on the horizon, the chain’s footprint is dwindling to a mere 45 locations, and there’s talk of further shrinkage as more spots could flip to Twin Peaks in the coming years.
A spokesperson told DailyMail.com, “We still plan to convert about half of Smokey Bones’ locations to Twin Peaks over the next several years.” Well, that’s a bold pivot, but it smells like a desperate bid to ditch a sinking ship for a trendier lifeboat.
They added, “Our first priority is completing the conversions and then we will execute on our growth strategy.” Growth strategy? Sounds more like a survival tactic when you’re slashing locations faster than a butcher trims fat.
Smokey Bones isn’t grilling in isolation—rival TGI Fridays has been charring its own finances, filing for bankruptcy last year and limping along with just 200 U.S. locations after its own mass closures.
Shifting consumer tastes and economic pressures have overcooked the casual dining sector, leaving both chains as casualties in a struggling landscape where traditional sit-down joints fight to keep the lights on.
While progressive agendas promote boutique eateries and overpriced “ethical” dining, hardworking Americans simply want a decent meal without breaking the bank—something these chains once delivered before mismanagement and misplaced priorities dragged the industry down.
