Whether it’s down to changing trends, hiked-up rents, or the after-effects of the pandemic, we’ve seen many legendary restaurants forced to shutter in the past few years. Diners and burger joints may come and go, but the truly special ones remain forever in the hearts and bellies of regulars, inducing drooling at the very thought of the signature dishes they once served. From beloved fast food chains that once rivaled McDonald's to fancy fine-dining spots that were once thriving celebrity haunts, these are the iconic restaurants that have closed forever.
Click or scroll through our gallery to discover the legendary US restaurants that have closed for good – how many do you remember?
Opened in 1930, Matt's Place was Montana's oldest drive-in restaurant and home to one of America’s most unusual regional burgers – the nutburger. To make this sweet and salty fast food delicacy, a smashed beef patty is topped with a combination of crushed peanuts and Miracle Whip. It was invented by founder Matt Korn in the 1930s, and was the old-school joint’s claim to fame until it closed down in 2021. Unfortunately, no other local restaurants appear to be carrying on the burger’s legacy, so the only way to taste it is to make it at home.
When you picture suited Hollywood executives power lunching in the 1980s, they're probably dining somewhere that looks like The Palm. This storied Italian-American steakhouse first opened in West Hollywood in 1975, and was renowned for being the go-to spot for Hollywood movie moguls and actors. The original location was a pretty rustic joint with speakeasy vibes, known for having walls covered with hand-drawn caricatures of celebrities. It moved to a new Beverly Hills location in 2014, but sadly closed for good late last year.
The luxurious steakhouse was part of the once-venerable Palm Restaurant franchise, which was founded in 1926 by Italian immigrants Pio Bozzi and John Ganzi (pictured with family in the restaurant) and has spots all over the US, as well as in Puerto Rico and Mexico. A complicated court battle led to the high-end chain being sold in 2020 to hospitality conglomerate Landry’s, which announced the closure of the Beverly Hills outpost three years later. The company says it's currently ‘exploring options,’ so we could yet see the legendary restaurant back again. Other locations, including one in Downtown LA, remain open.
In a small corner of New York state, the spiedie is king. One of America’s lesser-known sandwiches, the spiedie (pronounced 'speedy') is the pride of Binghamton, New York and has a dedicated local following in the region. Sharkey's Bar & Grill was a legendary old-school spot that specialized in the local delicacy, which consists of skewered cubes of marinated meat – chicken, pork, beef, or lamb – chargrilled and served in a hoagie roll or on fresh Italian bread. Sadly it closed its doors in 2020, almost 73 years after it opened in 1947.
Sharkey's is one of a few historic spiedie joints that have closed over the past few years, and locals fear the dish is in danger of disappearing for good. During its heyday, the restaurant was a lively community hub, specializing in classic dishes like city chicken, steamed clams, and pierogi dumplings, alongside its secret-recipe spiedies. According to co-owner Marie Sharak, the restaurant really struggled during the pandemic and the family decided it was time to throw in the towel.
Famed for its gigantic corned beef sandwiches, matzo ball soup, and giant homemade pickles, Corky and Lenny's was one of Ohio’s most famous delis until its abrupt closure in late 2023, after 67 years in business. Steeped in Cleveland history and Jewish tradition, the deli was opened 1956 by Sanford ‘Corky’ Kurland and Lenny Kaden, who wanted to serve the authentic Eastern European dishes they had grown up eating. Over the years, it was a must-visit for passing entertainers like Milton Berle, Norm Crosby, Jackie Mason, and David Letterman.
The traditional Jewish deli had been run by Sandford’s son Kenny and his wife Amanda in recent years, and by all accounts the restaurant appeared to be thriving. In a candid TV interview on Cleveland 13 News, Amanda talked about the family’s difficult decision to close, putting it largely down to the deli’s longtime struggle to hire enough staff after the pandemic, which put enormous pressure and stress on her husband.
An icon of North Carolina’s barbecue scene, Bunns BBQ – one of the state’s oldest – kept generations of diners supplied with its melt-in-the-mouth slow-roasted hog, Brunswick stew, and signature cornbread sandwiches, filled with chopped Boston butt and homemade coleslaw. It was founded in 1938 by B.B. Weathers, and was then taken over in 1969 by the Russell family, who ran the restaurant until its closure in summer 2023, after 85 years in business.
Bunns BBQ was a no-frills joint through and through, run from a century-old Texaco filling station in downtown Windsor. Located along the Cashie River, it bounced back from multiple floods over the years, but eventually brothers Randy and Russ Russell – who had operated the restaurant since the death of their father Wilbur in 1987 – decided they were ready for retirement. Some remain hopeful this isn’t the end of Bunn’s BBQ, however, as it briefly reopened for a two-day stint a few months after officially closing.
Williamsburg residents were left devastated when timeless red-sauce restaurant Frost closed its doors last summer. The much-loved Italian joint was owned by the same family since 1959, and had a lengthy menu packed with old-school classics like chicken Siciliana, veal scaloppine, and eggplant rollatini. It also famously had a television set permanently tuned into Jeopardy! or CNN. There had been plenty of rumors over the years about the restaurant’s demise, but the family finally decided to sell up in 2023 – and it’s sorely missed by Brooklynites.
This James Beard Award–winning Oregon stalwart was once of the Pacific Northwest’s most acclaimed restaurants, building a solid reputation over the years as a destination for visiting wine lovers. Originally opened in 1977 by Nick Peirano, the elegant spot was famous for its handmade pastas, extensive local wine list, and pesto-topped minestrone soup. Nick’s daughter Carmen took over day-to-day operations in 2007, modernizing the menu with wood-fired pizzas and homemade charcuterie, and it was a big surprise when the restaurant shuttered unexpectedly in 2023.
Nick’s was a real gem in its heyday, and in 2014 was given a James Beard America’s Classics Award, which celebrates ‘restaurants that have timeless appeal and are beloved for quality food that reflects the character of their community.’ In announcing the closure, the Peirano family cited ‘the compounding challenges of running a business these days’ as part of their reasons.
After serving tasty chicken sandwiches and waffle fries to hungry customers for more than 50 years, Chick-fil-A's first-ever standalone location – a franchise in Greenbriar Mall in Atlanta, Georgia – closed its doors last year. It's unclear why the store's owners decided to shut down the fryers for good, but in a statement on the spot's Facebook page, they called on disappointed fans to support nearby Chick-fil-A restaurants for their fast food fix instead.
Nestled alongside department stores Rich's and JCPenney, the original Chick-fil-A was opened in 1967 by the chain's founder, Truett Cathy, and was one of the first mall-based outlets of its kind. When the hole-in-the-wall spot first opened, there were only a handful of items on the menu, including the Original Chicken Sandwich, (which then cost just 59 cents), boneless chicken salads, coleslaw, lemonade, and lemon pie. In the decades since, the chain – known for its slogan 'Eat Mor Chikin' – has opened up nearly 3,000 restaurants across the country.
There’s a scene in TV drama Mad Men where Peggy, Don, and Pete sit munching fries and slurping milkshakes in Burger Chef, preparing to pitch to the fast food chain and take on its advertising. It may have largely fallen out of the collective consciousness in favor of the ubiquitous McDonald's and Burger King, but in the 1960s and 1970s, the orange roofs were everywhere.
At its peak, there were around 1,200 Burger Chefs flipping patties and dishing out fries throughout the USA. The chain was also a pioneer of what has become a fast food mainstay – the meal deal. The Triple Threat with a burger, fries, and a drink was a customer favorite, selling for just 45 cents.
A series of ownership changes and image redesigns through the decades saw its influence – and number of restaurants – dwindle, while McDonald's established itself as the burger behemoth. Its final franchise, in Cookeville, Tennessee, shuttered in 1996, around four decades after the chain was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. Die-hard fans still drool at the memory of those generous, juicy burgers, and the bottomless salad bar.
This Portland favorite opened its doors in 1978, and they may as well have been revolving; it went through so many closures and relaunches. It was originally a jazz club with magicians, relaunched as a late-night dining and drinking den – and then relaunched again as an acclaimed French-style brasserie. Perhaps because it couldn’t quite make up its mind, it closed for good in 2016, and has now been replaced with a trendy wine bar.
You can still find those old-school New York diners where thick pancakes come with crisp rashers of bacon, bottomless coffee, and as much maple syrup as your plate can hold – but they’re getting harder to come by. Lower East Side favorite Cup & Saucer closed in 2017 after nearly 70 years serving customers at its counter (complete with swivel chairs). The owners of the luncheonette blamed its demise on rising rents.
In Chicago, new restaurant openings – and restaurant closures – are a pretty everyday occurrence. But Charlie Trotter’s, which operated in the Windy City between 1987 and 2012, was different from the rest. This was the place to go for a special occasion or just to treat yourself. Chef and owner Charlie Trotter achieved legendary status when he introduced what was, at the time, a radical idea: the fine-dining tasting menu. At its peak, the restaurant held two Michelin stars.
Trotter also ran a foundation to help kids from low-income backgrounds attend culinary school, and launched the careers of lauded chefs including Grant Achatz and Homaro Cantu. He closed the restaurant in 2012 to focus on academia, and tragically died after suffering a stroke the following year. An obituary in the New York Times described Trotter as a 'homegrown talent,' going on to praise his menu of 'multiple small courses, each audacious in its inventiveness and exquisite in its ingredients.' His influence on Chicago's dining scene can still be felt today.
A connection to gonzo journalist and author Hunter S. Thompson is usually enough for a restaurant to earn cult status, but this tiki bar and restaurant went a leap further: it also had a famous fish as its mascot. Bahooka opened in West Covina, near Los Angeles, in 1969 before moving location to nearby Rosemead seven years later.
There it reigned, trussed up like a shipwreck with buried treasure, topping stiff drinks with umbrellas, and dishing up stacks of sticky ribs. Stuffed with licence plates, Polynesian head statues, surfboards, and anything pineapple-shaped, it was used as a location in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, the 1998 film adaptation of Thompson’s cult road-trip novel. Rufus, an aging Pacu fish and the restaurant's mascot, even appeared on screen with Johnny Depp in the movie.
When it closed in 2013, fans lined up for hours to sip one last Mai Tai cocktail within the bamboo-lined walls. The Fliegel family, who owned the restaurant, closed the place because they wanted to retire and there were no other family members to take over operations. The building's new owners said they would adopt Rufus, in his late 30s when Bahooka Ribs & Grog shut, and keep him in their new restaurant.
Its cioppino – a tomatoey stew packed with seafood, invented by Italian fishermen in San Francisco – was legendary. So was its linguine with freshly dived clams. But Caesar's, close to San Francisco’s busy Fisherman’s Wharf, is one of many old-school Italian restaurants to shutter over the past decade or so. It served its last bowls of pasta in 2012, after 56 years in business, with high rents believed to be the culprit.
Who wouldn’t want to eat some rotisserie chicken served up by country crooner Kenny Rogers? Now imagine if Dolly Parton swung by to perform an impromptu duet, and maybe even top up your bottomless mug of coffee... OK, so this chain owned by the late music legend wasn’t quite that exciting, but we’d still have loved to dine there.
At one point, the chain – founded in 1991 by Rogers together with a former CEO of KFC – had around 425 locations spanning the globe. It was known for wood-fired rotisserie chicken, carrying the tagline 'Deliciously Healthy.' The first restaurant was in Coral Springs, Florida, and the menu soon expanded with turkey, ribs, and plenty of sides.
Fans of sitcom Seinfeld might remember an entire episode dedicated to Kramer’s love of the chain, first aired in 1996. Alas, after a series of ownership changes, the last US location shuttered in 2011. You can still try it if you’re traveling in Malaysia or Indonesia, though; Kenny Rogers Roasters still has around 150 franchises in Asia.
This popular chain, which launched in 1975, was named after the founder’s wife (her nickname was Chi Chi). The first spot opened in Richfield, Minnesota, and it quickly became a go-to spot for casual family feasts of tacos, burritos, and salsa. By 1986, there were more than 200 branches of the Mexican restaurant, whose slogan was 'life always needs a little salsa.'
Sadly, shortly after the then-owners filed for bankruptcy in 2003, a Pittsburgh-area branch was hit with an outbreak of hepatitis A, traced back to green onions used in the food. Four people died and hundreds were infected. It signaled the end for Chi-Chi’s in the USA, though there are now franchises in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and North Africa.
Few launches warrant as much fanfare as the Official All Star Cafe, a chain of sports-themed restaurants from the team behind Planet Hollywood. But then, few restaurant chains have such starry line-ups. A who’s who of the sporting world, including basketball hero Shaquille O’Neal and tennis players Monica Seles and Andre Agassi, lined up to invest. The first, in New York City’s Times Square, was followed by nine others. Ownership changes and fading popularity led to the last one closing in 2007.
With 28 ice cream flavors and a menu devised by legendary French-born chef Jacques Pépin, how could the Howard Johnson’s restaurant chain fail? Well, it didn’t – at first. Founded in 1925 by US entrepreneur Howard Deering Johnson, it started as a soda fountain and lunch counter just outside Boston, Massachusetts. Fast-forward three decades and he had 400 restaurants across the US. By the 1970s, there were more than 1,000 of them.
This wasn’t fast food; the Howard Johnson’s name stood for high-quality meals and traditional, family-focused dining rooms. Food was prepped at central hubs and delivered to the restaurants to keep a consistent standard, and even the style of decor was prescribed. Fried clams and 'frankforts,' submerged in butter before being grilled, were always on the menu.
Ho-Jo's, as it was nicknamed, lasted to see a century – quite a feat in the world of restaurant chains. Once a hit with road-trippers and retro Americana fans, the final franchise, in Lake George, New York, sadly closed its doors in 2022. Meanwhile, the associated hotel brand has been taken over by the Wyndham hotel group.
San Francisco’s Chinatown is the oldest in the US and is a perennial favorite for food lovers. Empress of China was a landmark among landmarks, with views across the city from its rooftop restaurant and cocktail bar. Its walls were plastered with photos of celebrities including Sammy Davis Jr, Dean Martin, and Frank Sinatra, and it was a popular venue for weddings.
At some point, however, the old-school establishments – all banquet-style dining and white tablecloths – fell a little out of favor as trends moved further towards more casual places. In the end, the building was sold, and the restaurant was forced to close in 2014, after 48 years in business.
A local group campaigned for the building to become a museum dedicated to Chinese American history, though instead it sat empty for five years before the Michelin-starred Hakkasan chain’s former international executive chef, Ho Chee Boon, took over the space. He opened his Cantonese restaurant, Empress by Boon, there in June 2021, to rave reviews. So, while we can only dream of the egg rolls and pot stickers once devoured by Ol’ Blue Eyes and his Rat Pack friends, a modern dining destination has risen from the ashes.
Hiked-up rents have killed off many a favorite dining spot, and Da Silvano, a legendary Italian restaurant in New York City’s Greenwich Village, remains one of the saddest losses. Owner and chef Silvano Marchetto was a pioneer of northern Italian cuisine in the Big Apple, serving osso buco (slow-cooked veal shanks), tripe, and pasta with shaved truffles when other menus were all about meatballs and red sauce.
The celebrity clientele certainly helped the restaurant achieve fame, too. Madonna, Owen Wilson, Sean Penn, Robert De Niro, Tom Hanks, and Rihanna are among the stars to have dined there. Unsurprisingly, with all those stellar names, the restaurant made regular appearances on celebrity gossip pages.
Marchetto blamed huge rents and a rise in the minimum wage for forcing him to close his doors in 2016, 41 years after opening. The celebrities had to find somewhere else to go, and there remains a crostini-shaped hole in the hearts of many New Yorkers.
The sandwiches at Carnegie Deli, crammed with four-inch-thick pastrami or corned beef and Swiss cheese, were enormous – and so were the lines. Delis don’t come much more classic, or more New York, than Carnegie, which opened in 1937 opposite Carnegie Hall in Midtown Manhattan.
An appearance in Woody Allen’s 1984 film Broadway Danny Rose only cemented its iconic status. To regulars, it was already a huge star. The deli was packed out all day, every day with people digging into house-made cheesecakes and rugelach, a sweet, flaky Jewish pastry. But the restaurant shut its doors in 2016, breaking the hungry hearts of its many, many fans.
Owner Marian Harper Levine primarily blamed the closure on 'grueling hours' and the toll they took. Carnegie still produces its cured and smoked meats at its New Jersey plant, however, and it even ships the famous sandwiches and cheesecakes to hungry customers nationwide. They also opened a stall at Madison Square Garden so, although you can't visit the legendary deli, you can still get a gloriously overstuffed Carnegie sandwich.
There was an outpouring of grief when Louis’ Restaurant announced its closure in July 2020. This unpretentious spot had occupied (arguably) the best location in San Francisco since 1937, when it opened on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean; the area became part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area in the 1970s. The restaurant was known for delicious comfort food, from burgers to fresh seafood, and survived several fires over the years.
This iconic eatery was unable to survive the continuous 'stay at home' orders and restrictions imposed due to COVID-19. Owners Bill and Tom Hontalas, grandsons of Greek immigrant founders Louis and Helen Hontalas, made the announcement on the restaurant’s Facebook page, saying that to wait out the pandemic was 'financially unreasonable.' Fans flocked to buy coffee mugs, menus, and aprons bearing the logo, keen to own souvenirs of their favorite place to eat.
To many, Threadgill’s was Austin. This legendary hangout was opened by Kenneth Threadgill in 1933 as a gas station and basic bar, serving only beer. It gradually grew into a restaurant and music venue, making history in the early 1960s when one Janis Joplin – then a student – began playing at weekly folk sessions there. Eddie Wilson – who owned the equally legendary Armadillo World Headquarters next door – closed his venue and took over Threadgill’s in 1981, bringing with him a Southern-style food menu.
Wilson described Threadgill’s as representing 'a time before disco or microwaves.' He opened a second location, in South Austin, in 1996 – though that restaurant closed in 2018, due to high taxes and rents. Threadgill’s remained popular thanks to comfort food favorites like burgers and po' boys, though was unable to withstand the COVID-19 restrictions. Despite initially trying to stay afloat by offering takeout and deliveries, it closed in April 2020.
It’s not hard to find good food in New Orleans – just ask any local, or follow your nose. But even among the many legends of the Big Easy dining scene, K-Paul’s was a standout. The French Quarter landmark was opened in 1979 by Paul Prudhomme and his wife Kay (pictured), who had already made his mark as executive chef of the city’s acclaimed Commander’s Palace. It quickly became known for excellent Cajun and Creole cuisine.
The restaurant is credited with putting those cuisines on the map with dishes like gumbo and jalapeño and Cheddar rolls, and continued to thrive even following Prudhomme’s death in 2015. His niece Brenda took over with husband Paul Miller, yet made the 'heartbreaking' decision to close after being repeatedly hit by restrictions due to COVID-19. They announced the permanent shutdown in July 2020, having been out of service for several months.
Despite the rather confusing name, Español Italian Restaurant survived close to a century as a favorite dining spot for many in California’s state capital. It was actually Sacramento’s oldest restaurant, opened in 1923, and was known for hearty Italian and Italian-American dishes like spaghetti and meatballs, and ravioli. Meals were served family-style, with all lunch and dinner orders including a tureen of the day’s soup, salad, main course, and dessert.
The seemingly incongruous name came from the fact it was originally housed in an old Basque boarding house. With a clientele of loyal older customers, it was particularly popular with large groups and families coming in for celebrations like birthdays and anniversaries, but it struggled to stay afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic. The restaurant originally planned to close temporarily but, in August 2020, announced it would not be reopening.
Reportedly the oldest café in Texas, this iconic spot was known for its original neon sign, diner-style bar stools, and classic, made-from-scratch dishes like chicken fried steak. Cafe Texan opened in 1936 and customers – both locals and visitors – adored the vintage, time-stood-still atmosphere, with walls displaying photos from years gone by, and some staff working there for decades. Many customers frequented the café throughout their lives, too.
The café, whose regulars included a high number of older people, stayed closed during the first months of the pandemic for the safety of customers and staff, and had intended to reopen. Financial pressures became too much, however, and Cafe Texan closed for good in August 2020. The building was sold and has now become a museum, home to a global collection of antiquities and artifacts.