Times are still tough for some chain restaurants in Michigan. Several brands, including Bahama Breeze and BD’s Mongolian Grill, have recently left the state completely.
Seven other popular restaurant chains that used to have locations spread across metro Detroit or Michigan are hanging on, with each down to one surviving location operating in the state.
Two of them are metro Detroit staples that have survived for decades. Another, you’ll find one way up in the Upper Peninsula right next to Wisconsin.
And one of the surviving restaurants announced in April it, too, will close this year.
From dine-in to drive-in and drive-thru, here are seven restaurants that are their brand’s sole survivor in Michigan.
TGI Fridays
Known for its American cuisine like burgers, wings, ribs, potato skins and mozzarella sticks, TGI Fridays has been bringing excitement to the weekend since its original bar opened in 1965 in Manhattan, New York.
TGI Fridays stands for Thank God It’s Friday. The restaurant chain aimed to bring people together to celebrate the spirit of Friday with its food and drinks.
The chain, also known as Fridays, used to have restaurants across Michigan and metro Detroit.
In 2026, one TGI Fridays restaurant remains open in Michigan at 26299 Evergreen Road in Southfield.
The last TGI Fridays in West Michigan closed in March 2025 and was located in Grand Rapids.
The company is currently navigating Chapter 11 bankruptcy and has continued to close restaurants, according to USA TODAY. Only 75 locations remain in the U.S., according to the company website.
Hooters
Sports bar and grill chain Hooters only has one restaurant left in Michigan: Saginaw, at 5538 Bay Road.
Hooters is known for its chicken wings, cold beer and servers wearing orange shorts and low-cut tank tops.
Former locations in Flint and Taylor closed in June 2025, but the chain used to have restaurants all over Michigan.
Bar Louie
Chain gastrobar Bar Louie once had locations across metro Detroit, including Dearborn, Livonia, Auburn Hills and Clinton Township.
The Livonia and Auburn Hills locations closed in March 2025 and the Clinton Township restaurant, located at the Mall at Partridge Creek, closed in June 2025.
The Clinton Township closure left one remaining operating Bar Louie in Michigan, located at 510 S. Main St. in Royal Oak.
Bar Louie filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March, according to USA TODAY. It previously filed for bankruptcy in 2020.
Sign of the Beefcarver
Sign of the Beefcarver is an Early American themed cafeteria restaurant with waitress service that began in 1957, according to the restaurant’s website. It serves home-cooked comfort foods.
The only remaining restaurant is located in Royal Oak at 27400 Woodward Ave.
The restaurant became the sole survivor after the Dearborn location closed in 2018.
The chain also previously had restaurants in Harper Woods, Southfield, Allen Park, Madison Heights, Bloomfield Hills, West Bloomfield, Westland, Taylor, Mt. Clemens and Warren, according to the restaurant’s Facebook page.
The first location to close was West Bloomfield in 1991.
Perkins Restaurant & Bakery
The only Perkins Restaurant & Bakery left in Michigan is located in Menominee. Diners can find it at 2340 10th St. near the Upper Peninsula’s border with Wisconsin.
The American casual dining restaurant chain closed some Michigan restaurants in 2011, according to MLive. The closures included locations in Grand Rapids, Jenison, Holland Township, Norton Shores and Kalamazoo.
Daly Restaurants
More than a dozen drive-in Daly Restaurants were once located in metro Detroit. Started in 1948 in Dearborn Heights, the small chain became known for their hamburgers with Daly E-Sauce and footlong Dalydogs.
Besides the original Dearborn Heights location, there were also restaurants in Westland, Detroit, Livonia, Lincoln Park, Plymouth, Taylor, Clawson, Redford, Waterford, Farmington Hills and two additional locations in Dearborn Heights, according the the Daly Restaurants website.
The last remaining Daly location is in Livonia at 31500 Plymouth Road. However, the restaurant announced on social media Wednesday, April 22 that it would be closing after the summer.
“We have been fortunate to serve the community for over 67 years,” the restaurant said in the post. “We appreciate all that you have done for us throughout these decades. We hope that you will continue to support both Daly and its longtime staff. We have been blessed to have such a dedicated, honest and hard-working crew. We hope that they can remain with us through these final months.”
Farewell, Max & Erma’s
A similar list last year included Max & Erma’s final Michigan location at the McNamara Terminal at Detroit Metro Airport in Romulus.
That location has since closed, no longer appearing on the company’s website and erasing the footprint of the casual American fare restaurant in Michigan.
Smokey Bones leaves Michigan
Another chain restaurant, Smokey Bones, was originally set to be on this list, but closed its last Michigan location in April.
The bar and restaurant that focuses on fire-grilled and house-smoked meats used to have several locations in Michigan.
After its Grand Rapids and Utica locations closed in September, according to reports, only one Michigan location remained in Lansing at 2401 Lake Lansing Road, but it also closed Tuesday, April 28, according to the Lansing State Journal.
The parent company of Smokey Bones, Twin Hospitality Group Inc., closed several locations in 2025, but said at the time that the remaining restaurants were generating positive cash flow, according to the Lansing State Journal.
Other restaurants to keep an eye on
Several other chain restaurants are down to a few operating locations in Michigan.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: These once-popular restaurants have just 1 location left in Michigan
Reporting by Tanya Wildt, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
