Smokey Bones, a once-popular barbecue chain, appears to be quietly shuttering locations across the country, including its lone Greater Cincinnati restaurant.
The chain, known for its authentic fire-grilled and house-smoked meats, closed various locations April 28. A person who answered the phone at the West Chester restaurant Wednesday said the location’s last day of operation was Monday and it closed Tuesday. According to Smokey Bones’ website, every location is closed every day of the week, including its West Chester location.
There are no other locations in Greater Cincinnati, as the Florence, Kentucky, restaurant closed in September 2025.
The closures comes after Twin Peaks Hospitality, the owner of Smokey Bones and Twin Peaks restaurants, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Texas, USA TODAY reported in January.
The chain began closing restaurants in late 2025.
Smokey Bones was acquired as a 60-unit group by FAT Brands Inc. in 2023 and was spun off into Twin Hospitality in January 2025. Then, in September 2025, Twin Hospitality Group Inc. said it planned to rebrand 19 Smokey Bones locations as Twin Peaks restaurants while closing 15 underperforming sites.
Smokey Bones locations in Ohio
There are five Smokey Bones locations in Ohio, including Greater Cincinnati. There are no Northern Kentucky locations following the closure in Florence in September.
Here’s where they are:
Note: According to the Columbus Dispatch, a location at Easton Town Center was erased completely from Smokey Bones’ pages.
Contributing: Steven Spearie and Bob Vitale.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Smokey Bones closes Cincinnati-area restaurant amid nationwide closures
Reporting by Kaycee Sloan and Haadiza Ogwude, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
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