Here’s A Partial List Of Closed Joe’s Crab Shack & Brick House Tavern Locations

As we recently reported, employees at some Joe’s Crab Shack and Brick House Tavern restaurants found out without warning that their locations had been shut down immediately. While the corporate owners of these brands did not provide a list of shuttered locations, we’ve been able to piece together some spots that are now closed for good.

The Locations

Using local media reports and tips from helpful Consumerist readers (confirmed by calls to the restaurants), we’ve gathered the following list of locations that we can say with some certainty are now closed.

And if you see a Joe’s or a Brick House near you closing, and we don’t have it on our list, please let us know!

Restaurant Type	Location	City	State
Joe’s Crab Shack	12124 S Apopka Vineland Rd	Lake Buena Vista	FL
Joe’s Crab Shack	2757 E 80th Ave	Merrillville	IN
Joe’s Crab Shack	701 N 102nd St	Omaha	NE
Joe’s Crab Shack	1048 Cedarbridge Ave	Brick	NJ
Joe’s Crab Shack	Monmouth Mall	Eatontown	NJ
Joe’s Crab Shack	4125 Maple Rd	Amherst	NY
Joe’s Crab Shack	1195 Corporate Drive	Westbury	NY
Joe’s Crab Shack	4250 E Sunset Rd	Henderson	NV
Joe’s Crab Shack	1974 Power Plant Parkway	Hampton	VA
Brick House Tavern	5650 W Touhy Ave	Niles	IL
Brick House Tavern	6300 North Fwy	Fort Worth	TX

 

No Warning

Joe’s Crab Shack and Brick House Tavern locations started abruptly closing, without warning to employees or the public, the week of Aug. 7.

Several former employees of now-shuttered locations tell Consumerist that the closures were indeed abrupt and startling.

One Joe’s Crab Shack staffer in New York state writes, “I showed up for work [Sunday] and was told to go back home.”

Another says their store closed on Aug. 14, but the general manager warned them on Aug. 12 that it could be happening. “We were also told that the judge did not approve any kind of compensation for employees in this bankruptcy,” they added.

A Brick House Tavern server says, “We got an email for a last minute conference call Tuesday morning [Aug. 8] that lasted less than five minutes stating they would not be opening the restaurant, effective immediately, and it is permanently closed.”

Former Joe’s and Brick House employees also reported receiving uncertain or conflicting messages about the future of the chain(s) overall. A worker in Indiana tells Consumerist they heard that the parent company “only wants 60 Joe’s Crab Shack locations to remain open,” speculating that many more were about to shutter without warning employees either.

The Bankruptcy

The owner of Joe’s Crab Shack, Ignite Restaurant Group, filed for bankrupcty in June.

As part of its plan, the group also said it had entered into a sale agreement to Kelly Companies for it to acquire both the Joe’s and Brick House brands. At the time, Ignite said all 112 Joe’s Crab Shack and all 25 Brick House Tavern restaurants would remain open. That plan, clearly, has changed.

However, after a recent bankruptcy auction it seems more likely that the new owner of the chains will be Landry’s, a hospitality company that owns restaurant chains like Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., Morton’s The Steakhouse, and Rainforest Café.

Landry’s was the original owner as well, before spinning off the Joe’s and Brick House brands in 2006, and had reportedly been trying to re-acquire the company before it declared bankruptcy, too.

The bankruptcy court will determine whether or not it approves the sale on Thursday, Aug. 17.

We contacted a representative for Ignite Restaurant Group about this list, and we’ll update if we hear back.

by Kate Cox via Consumerist