Why is Fatz Café closing? Restaurant chain with 18 locations abruptly closes

Fatz Cafe, a southern restaurant chain, permanently closed all its branches on Wednesday, August 23, without noticing its employees. The restaurant chain had 18 locations in Tennessee, Georgia, Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. The company was founded in 1988 and became known for its signature dish, Calabash chicken, and other comfort foods.

Fatz Cafe peaked at almost 50 units back in 2011, after which it faced a rapid decline, which continued for years. The restaurant chain had shrunk to 32 units after years of negative sales, as per data obtained from Technomic. In 2020, the company closed another 10 outlets when its sales saw a steep drop of 42%.

On its Elizabethton location in Tennessee, a sign was hung on the closed restaurant door, which read that all its existing outlets would be permanently closed starting Wednesday, August 23. The message from the restaurant’s management read:

“We thank you for your support throughout our years in business.”

It was unclear as to why the restaurant closed so abruptly. The company has not yet responded to requests for comments by any publications.

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Fatz Cafe workers on sudden closing of the restaurant chain

About 25 employees at one of the cafe’s South Carolina outlets in Florence were shocked at the sudden announcement of the restaurant’s closing. One employee, Rhine Woodberry, said he drove to the restaurant from Mullins for six to seven days every week. He added that the closing took all the workers by surprise.

“No warning. No backup plan. No nothing. We were just told that we were out of a job. They pulled all the plugs in all the locations. We built a family here, our relationship, and that was just taken away from us like it was nothing. No warning. No nothing it was just a quick meeting and you’ve got to find another job.

"We are permanently closed down not only has a devastated At Work family. But, others. Because other Fatz locations have been shut down,” Woodberry said.

Another employee, Jack Coburn, said things seemed abnormal on Wednesday before the announcement came, and now he can understand why. He shared that when he tried to clock in, something went wrong with the internet. At first, he dismissed it as a usual bad internet connection. But later he found out that the management cut the internet access for the staff.

Elizabeth Driver said that the closure impacted her a lot since she was temporarily staying at a motel and was dependent on tips and other wages from the restaurant.

“I actually used to walk to work because I lived in a motel and they just don’t realize a lot of the people that work for them lived in a motel. We walked to work, rain, and everything. And it’s messed all up here. I had to go this morning and pack up my car. And I’m looking for a place to stay with no money and no place to stay. So, what do you do? These people didn’t even think about the consequences," she said.

Among other Fatz Cafe workers in Florence, Melanie Perkins said it hadn’t been long since she moved to Florence and was hired at the restaurant only last week. She added that the restaurant shouldn’t have hired new staff members if they were planning to close.

One of the managers of the outlet in Florence, Morgan Thomas, expressed her concern about her coworkers and what would happen to them now.

Thomas added that she shared a close bond with the girls and has also seen them grow and want to better themselves. She claimed to have seen the struggles some of the cooks went through. Thomas referred to the staff members as her family and said it was hard to acknowledge that they would be separated.

The closure came after Fatz Cafe filed for Chapter Seven in the bankruptcy code. Local restaurants around the cafe's Columbia outlet are now reportedly looking to recruit the affected cafe employees.

The manager of Mr. Friendly’s New Southern Cafe on Greene Street posted on Facebook welcoming all the former workers of Fatz Cafe to apply for positions at their restaurant.