Chicken Bone Struggling To Re-Open; Cancels Halloween Gig

The Chicken Bone, a bar in downtown Framingham, which appeared on the Spike-TV show Bar Rescue, is struggling to re-open after it abruptly closed in mid-June.

On June 17, the business said the summer is too slow and closed and said it would not re-open until after Labor Day.

On Oct. 6, the Bone posted on its own Facebook page: “We are unfortunately not ready to give a firm opening date yet. We are in the middle of a transition and have had to delay the opening due to permitting. As soon as we have a firm date we will post it. Our sincere apologies for this and we look forward to seeing you soon.”

This past weekend, the bar did not open and two band performances were cancelled. Chris Fitz was notified on Oct. 16 that its gig was cancelled, according to a Facebook post.

Yesterday, Oct. 20 another band - Pablo Palooza - was notified that its Halloween gig on Oct. 31 has been cancelled.

“Our Halloween Party at the Chicken Bone has been cancelled. I just received word from them that they will not be open by Oct 31st,” wrote the band on its Facebook page. “I wish them all the Best.”

No one answered the phone at The Chicken Bone on Monday.

In a letter to patrons, the Bone wrote:

“Summertime has always been a very slow time of year for us here at The Chicken Bone. Many people are away on vacation and/or enjoying outdoor activities. This, combined with recent changes in the economy and rising cost of living expenses, means we all have less money to spend on eating out and entertainment.

Up until last year, The Chicken Bone had always been open 7 days a week. Last summer, in an effort to minimize the impact of the slow season, we reduced our operating hours and decided to be closed on Mondays. We have made the difficult decision to suspend our operations for the entire summer this year, and then re-open after Labor Day.

In April 2013, a Framingham Health Department inspector ordered The Chicken Bone to toss all of its food and identified more than a dozen violations that posed an imminent health hazard. Violations related to food borne illness risk factors, included warm food in coolers, unrefrigerated items, mold & mildew in the ice dispenser and unsanitized food and bar areas.

Many of the violations identified in 2013 were almost identical to issues brought up during the production of the Spike TV show Bar Rescue in 2011.

In 2011, Bar Rescue remodeled The Chicken Bone and gave it a new menu and new name - The Bone.