Logan's Roadhouse fires employees, may not reopen

Just as a number of other businesses did last month, Logan's Roadhouse in Cape Girardeau "temporarily" closed its doors in advance of the COVID-19 pandemic.

But now it appears the steakhouse, known for its rustic decor and free buckets of peanuts, may never reopen.

CraftWorks Holdings of Nashville, Tennessee, parent company of Logan's and several other food and beverage brands, has shuttered its 261 restaurants, fired almost all of its 18,000 employees and canceled its employee health plan as of March 31, just as the coronavirus outbreak was building momentum in the United States.

It is not clear how many people were employed at the Cape Girardeau Logan's.

"We were all terminated," a former employee of the Logan's restaurant at 3012 William St. told the Southeast Missourian. The ex-employee asked not to be identified, saying there was a possibility employees might be rehired if the chain reopens. "I'd like to go back to work," the former employee said.

However, the reopening is in doubt, according to restaurant industry insiders. The Logan's chain has been in financial straits for several years and filed for bankruptcy in 2016. In 2018, the franchise was sold by Kelso & Company, a private equity firm, to CraftWorks Holdings. In addition to Logan's Roadhouse, CraftWorks owns several other restaurant brands, including Old Chicago, Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery, Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant Group and ChopHouse restaurants.

CraftWorks filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection just over a month ago, only days before the coronavirus outbreak forced restaurants to close their dining areas to help slow spread of the disease.

According to the Nashville Business Journal, CraftWorks is keeping fewer than 25 employees and is cutting costs "to a bare minimum" in hopes of reopening some of its restaurants after the coronavirus outbreak subsides.

A report in The Wall Street Journal earlier this week cited a court filing in which CraftWorks said "about half" of its restaurants could be closed for good.

Josh Kern, CraftWorks' chief experience officer, is listed on the company's website as its media contact person. However, a call to Kern's office was answered with a recorded message saying his "mailbox is full and cannot accept any messages at this time."

The Logan's Roadhouse chain was founded in 1991 in Lexington, Kentucky. The Cape Girardeau location opened in 2002 and was the first Logan's in Missouri. According to the chain's website, Logan's currently has two other Missouri restaurants, in Joplin and Springfield, as well as locations in Carbondale, Illinois, and Paducah, Kentucky.

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