Some people are saddened. Some people are angry. Some are choosing to focus on the good times and others are pushing for businesses to do better.
That’s the response O’Charley’s Restaurant and Bar has gotten since closing all of its locations abruptly on Sept. 9, alerting employees just 24 hours beforehand. The company’s website has since gone dark, as well.
Neither O’Charley’s nor its parent company Cannae Holdings have responded to USA TODAY’s requests for comment.
Closures reported across Tennessee, Ohio, Georgia and Virginia
Because the company has not publicly addressed the shutdowns in Tennessee, Ohio, Georgia and Virginia, confirmation has largely come from employees, customers and local reporting from WSB-TV in Atlanta, as well as USA TODAY Network outlets in Nashville and Columbus, Ohio.
There were
also signs posted at some restaurants thanking customers for their patronage, while other locations had already removed exterior branding, signaling the apparent end of the 55-year-old chain.
On Thursday, Sept. 10 at a location in Glen Allen, Virginia, the building's lettering had been completely removed, leaving shadowed outlines that once read “O’Charley’s.”
Another location in Richmond, Virginia had a "permanently closed" sign on the restaurant’s door that read, "O'Charley's thanks you for your patronage and we hope to see you soon!"
Employees say they were blindsided
Much of the online reaction has centered on how quickly the closures unfolded.
Brittany Kennedy, a Tennessee employee, said workers received notice just one day before their final shift.
"I guess corporate thought 24 hours was enough time to find another job," she wrote in a Facebook post, adding that employees were not offered severance packages.
Others echoed similar frustrations, criticizing company leadership and expressing concern for coworkers suddenly left without income.
Kimberly Sherlayne Bush, who worked at O'Charley's for more than five years, described the restaurant as more than a workplace.
"I built friendships, made memories, laughed, cried, and became part of a little family," she wrote. "We're all without a job."
The reaction has stretched beyond employees. Cedar Hill, Tennessee, Mayor John Edwards publicly criticized company leaders, saying workers and their families had been left "hanging out to dry."
Some former workers are focusing on what O'Charley's meant to them
Not every reaction has been angry.
Some former employees used social media to celebrate the role O'Charley's played in their lives over the years.
Ricky McCrary, a Tennessee employee, said the restaurant provided stability when he needed it most.
"Whether you liked it or not, O'Charley's was there," he wrote. "O'Charley's gave me a stable enough job ... so I could be with my son."
Customers share decades of memories
The closures also sparked an outpouring of nostalgia from customers and families with deep ties to the brand.
Kelsi Carter posted on Facebook that O'Charley's had been woven into her family's story since the 1980s. Her parents met at an O'Charley's restaurant, fell in love and later built family traditions around the chain.
"We grew up in O'Charley's," she wrote. "We spent countless nights curled up in those booths. Ordinary Tuesday dinners. Birthdays. Anniversaries. Celebrations."
For many commenters online, the shutdown isn't just the loss of another restaurant chain. It's the disappearance of a place tied to decades of everyday moments.
A Tennessee brand with a 55-year history
The first O'Charley's opened near Vanderbilt University in Nashville in 1971. Over the following decades, the restaurant expanded throughout the South and Midwest, becoming known for its burgers, steaks, rolls and casual dining atmosphere.
Ownership changed hands several times before Cannae Holdings became the company's largest stakeholder.
Now, with restaurants shuttered, employees searching for new jobs and customers saying goodbye, many are left asking the same question: Why did one of Tennessee's best-known restaurant brands disappear so suddenly?
For now, the company isn't saying. The former employees and loyal customers filling social media with memories are doing the talking instead.
Contributing: Danielle Hess, Mansfield News Journal; Lilli Malone, The Columbus Dispatch; Mackensy Lunsford, Nashville Tennessean
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'We're all without a job.' Workers, patrons react to O'Charley's closure
