Last Remaining IL Restaurant Of National Chain Closes

SPRINGFIELD, IL — A national restaurant chain has shuttered its last Illinois location.

While no official announcement has been made, Smokey Bones Barbecue has closed its last remaining Illinois restaurant at 2660 S. Dirksen Pkway. in Springfield.

A staff member told Patch the restaurant closed for good at midnight on Monday when reached by phone Wednesday morning.

The restaurant was known for its barbecue platters, ribs and steak.

Smokey Bones opened its first Illinois location in Mount Prospect in 2015. All of its remaining stores in Illinois have closed permanently.

Those closures came when company officials announced plans to rebrand 19 Smokey Bones locations as Twin Peaks restaurants while closing 15 underperforming sites.

FAT Brands Inc., which oversees the franchise-based chain, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January to restructure more than $1 billion in debt.

"The Chapter 11 process will provide us with the opportunity to strengthen our capital structure to support our concepts and ensure they remain at the forefront of their sectors," Andy Wiederhorn, CEO of FAT Brands, said in a statement at the time. "Our focus in this process remains providing quality service to our customers and supporting our franchise partners and the over 45,000 corporate and franchise employees."

Though there are no more Smokey Bones locations in Illinois, FAT Brands Inc. has three Twin Peaks restaurants in the state, including in Oakbrook Terrace, Warrenville and Algonquin.