The Chicken Bone in Framingham, Massachusetts, which was on season 1 of Bar Rescue
announced in June 2014 that they would be closing for the rest of the summer, with plans to re-open after Labor Day. Many people saw the writing on the wall and figured that they would be closed for good and it appears that they would be correct.Labor Day passed, and the bar didn't re-open. Then, the bar said they would open on October 3rd, and they later updated customers to say there was a slight delay and it would be October 10th. That date passed as well, and the bar kept stringing along customers saying they still planned to re-open. However, a few days ago, it was discovered that The Chicken Bone was listed for sale on Bizquest for $175,000.
The Chicken Bone addressed their customers on Facebook about the restaurant being for sale, stating:
"Hello Fans of the Chicken Bone,
By now many have seen information that the Chicken Bone is for sale. It saddens me to say this is true. When we closed for the summer we had the full intention of re-opening. We worked with a prospective new management team to try to be ready to go as soon as the summer was over. Delays and resulting economic conditions have made us unable to continue. When we realized this we found a buyer who was committed to re-opening as The Chicken Bone on October 1st . As the day came and passed it became clear that this buyer did not have the resources to move forward. We are in the process of looking for a solution and remain committed to the Chicken Bone brand.
Please accept my deepest apologies to all who love the Chicken Bone and have so patiently waited, as well as the bands who have stuck with us and been so patient though this difficult time. I have been trying very hard to connect with a serious buyer who has the capacity and fortitude to rebuild what I have damaged. My passion for The Chicken Bone will never fade. It is clear, however, that I simply had too much going on and I lost the confidence of many of our faithful guests and friends. I am sorry for letting you down. I have certainly paid a steep price financially, but worst of all, I hurt the place we all love. I'm not exactly sure what will happen from here. I don't know if I will find a buyer who believes, as I still do, that the Chicken Bone is a viable entity. A buyer who can provide the proper management and ownership oversight to build this place back up to being the place we all knew and loved. If you believe in the Chicken Bone as it was and want it back(minus me) that’s cool, I get it, please share this correspondence with your friends and let your feelings be known here in this forum and elsewhere.
We’ll continue to update you on the fan page as things progress. When new management is ready to come in and re-open, perhaps under even a new name, we hope you’ll give them the same loyalty that I was honored to have while running the Chicken Bone.
Thank You,
Bill Rodenhiser"
This bar will now be marked as 'Closed' on the Bar Rescue Updates page, and this is the third bar from season 1 of Bar Rescue that has closed.
Seemed like a good rescue. But I think there's an unstated theme on many of these shows that many owners shouldn't quit their day jobs.
ReplyDeleteI'm not surprised. When a bar/restaurant says that they are "closing for the season" or "temporarily closed"...it's usually permanent.
ReplyDeleteI had been going there since it inception in the early 90s. They should have focused on a sports bar theme. Too small for a music venue. Also. Keno is big in Massachusetts. They should have made it a sports/keno bar that also served great chicken. The bathrooms need to be ripped out and relocated. Horrible design of the building but they could make something work with the right owner. This guy is a contractor. A successful one also. Knew nothing abou the business.
ReplyDeleteI had a huge feeling the moment I read that last statement from them that they were going to end up closing because closing up for the summer that was truly a bad sign there is no way any business especially a bar business would do that. I mean baseball season and pre football season that's where he could have made his money you also those college kids looking for a good place to hang out. This guy obviously didn't know what he was doing. speaking of Framingham what about that other bar angry Ham's? We haven't heard anything from that bar in a long time are they still in business or are they closed
ReplyDeleteAngry Ham's is still in business.
ReplyDeleteThat's because Bar Rescue should of been about rescuing the bar instead of a drama filled episode. Clearly with 2 million in sales the had issues with there cost of goods sold. You didn't fool all of us Taffer. Besides who would change the name of a bar if the sales were 2 million. Your show is laughable
ReplyDeleteThanks.
ReplyDeleteKarma is a bitch.
ReplyDeleteIt was bound to happen!!! Bill should've stayed with his plumbing business and just put his money into The Bone!!! As soon as he started making decisions on what The day to day was there, and started replacing staff, that place was doomed!!!
ReplyDeleteI didn't know he replace the original staff. when he originally closing that place during the summer, I kinda had a feeling that he let go of his original manager too because that guy knew what he was doing. it just comes to show that some people or in this case some owners really can't let go of their pride.
ReplyDeleteThe area is a slum who'd want to go there?
ReplyDeleteThis is the third bar closed from the first season? Hmmmmm. I see a pattern! And bar rescue is a JOKE!
ReplyDeletebilly's brother is thw plumber. Bill Rodenhizer is the owner of Rodenhizer excavating.
ReplyDeletebut yet you watch it, because if you didn't you clearly wouldn't be on this site.
ReplyDeleteYour a fool
ReplyDeleteAnybody given the opportunity to succeed from a bar rescue is handed a golden opportunity. If you waste it and don't work to implement the new business then then bar rescue is not a joke, it is the bar owner who is a joke and a loser!
ReplyDeleteGood lord, what an idiot. Bar Recue cleans your place up and gives you an hour of advertising on national TV and you change the name back and follow up with one of the longest lists of health code violations I've ever seen. I'm pretty sure the manager Jeff either quit or was fired early on, and the owner went right back to his old tricks.
ReplyDeleteThe bars on this show are circling the drain. I think saving 70% of these failing businesses is pretty good. Plus they lasted a few years before closing.
ReplyDeleteI live about 3 miles from this place. As soon as it was "rescued," it went back to exactly what it was before. Dirty place, tons of fruit flies, inept management, etc. They're asking $175K for what? A place with a bad reputation? No thanks.
ReplyDeleteYup, it's smack-dab in Little Rio. Not mention, with all the traffic around there, it's a pain in the ass to go to.
ReplyDeleteIf you worked a bit harder, you could have been successful.
ReplyDeleteIn Taffer's defense, he changed the name to what everybody around here (Framingham) called the bar anyway. Rodenheiser changed it back eventually, but it didn't make a difference (obviously)
ReplyDeleteanother example of management unqualified
ReplyDeleteIt seems that a smart position fixes almost everything but forgot to fix stupid people. What a waste. JT doesn't get frustrated.
ReplyDeleteSounds about right. This was a Shoney's that closed "temporarily":
ReplyDeletehttp://files.schuminweb.com/journal/2014/full-size/weekend-trip-27.jpg
Once the branding comes down, you know it's over.