A POPULAR chicken restaurant abruptly closed the doors of one of its outlets over the weekend, leaving fans devastated.
After nine years, the Chicken Salad Chick store in Baymeadows, Jacksonville, Florida, closed its doors on Friday.
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The restaurant at Reedy Branch Commons Shopping Center was one of more than 260 operated by the chain in 19 states.
Customers were informed of the closure at the last minute by a sign taped to the front doors.
He apologized to customers for any inconvenience and directed them to the nearest Chicken Salad Chick location, six miles away in St Johns town centre.
The statement did not detail the reason for the sudden closure, but highlighted that new locations would be opening in the area soon.
“We look forward to opening new Chicken Salad Chick locations in the Jacksonville market to better serve our guests,” the sign read.
“What? Tell me it’s not like that!” wrote a Chicken Salad Chick fan in the comments of a Facebook page publish confirming the news.
“Something I never knew I needed before moving to Florida. It’s perfect for a weeknight lunch.
“What a bummer! We were there and it was really good! That’s sad,” a third added.
Meanwhile, others are interpreting the recent closure as a sign of worse things to come as restaurants across the country struggle to stay open.
“This is not a good sign,” wrote one Facebook user.
“It’s a chain of fresh restaurants and their food is really delicious. Makes me think there’s something going on behind the scenes?”
POSITIVE OUTLOOK
However, the chain’s chief marketing officer, Tom Carr, tried to calm those fears.
“While we are closing one, we still have three on the market and we intend to add one or two over the next 12 months in addition,” he said. The Florida Times-Union.
“So it’s really about broadening our market with some new locations that can better meet the needs of our guests than the one in Baymeadows.”
Carr reiterated that the closed Baymeadows location is the only closure planned for the Jacksonville area, as “the others are 100 percent planning to stay open.”
Rather than seeing it as a loss, he said it is “basically a change of location.”
Restaurant Closings in 2024
BOSSes of major restaurant chains have announced a series of restaurant closures. The US Sun has compiled a list of those affected by the network.
- Biscuit Barrel: Stores in Medford, Oregon, Columbia, South Carolina and Sacramento, California, closed.
- Mod Pizza: Bosses dramatically closed 27 stores in April, including some in the state of California.
- Frisch’s Big Boy: Restaurant bosses confirmed the closure of a restaurant in Covington, Kentucky, in April.
- Outback Steakhouse: The chain will close 41 “underperforming” locations this year.
- Two dolars: Four restaurants in Ohio closed in April.
- Pepper: A restaurant in Port Arthur, Texas, has closed permanently, as has another in Irvine, California.
- Friendly: Bosses have confirmed that an establishment in Ronkonkoma, Long Island, will close.
- Pizza Hut: A restaurant in Glen Falls, New York, closed in late March, followed by four in Ohio in June and 15 in Indiana.
- Danny: Two restaurants in Boise and Nampa, Idaho, have closed.
- Carl’s Jr.: The first location in Boise, Idaho, has closed.
- In and out: A location in Oakland closed earlier this year due to crime in the area.
- cheesecake factory: The chain is expected to close a location in Memphis, Tennessee, in July.
- Applebee’s: Announced the closure of between 25 and 35 locations this year.
- Taco John’s: He closed a restaurant in Minnesota and put the building up for sale in May.
- Rubio’s Coastal Grill: Announced the closure of 48 locations in California after filing for bankruptcy.
- Burger King: It closed a California location in June after 30 years.
As Carr and the team looked for new locations, the CMO hinted that Ortega Park could be the area of focus.
“We’re looking at a variety of different areas… We’re looking at something that could be in the Ortega Park area,” he told the outlet.
“We also think it’s great to get to the beach side, towards Ponte Vedra. But we are looking at the entire market.”
US Sun has reached out to the network for comment.
Meanwhile, several other restaurants are closing their doors as financial difficulties reach a boiling point.
On Monday, Burgerheim fans were shocked when they discovered that a location in Burlington, Massachusetts, had closed for good amid long-running financial difficulties.
After five decades in business, a rival to Taco Bell has pulled out citing a number of reasons for Chiptole’s entry.
Additionally, the parent company of a popular California salad chain filed for bankruptcy last week, raising fears of closure.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
