The carousel of recent restaurant closings and openings in Henderson continued last week when Grandy’s shut its doors Jan. 16 after a more-than-four-decade run.
Several social media posts late last week informed of the restaurant’s closing.
An internet search Tuesday revealed the Henderson Grandy’s location was “Permanently closed.” A sign posted on the door stated, “Sorry We’re closed.”
Until its closing, the Henderson location was one of two still left in the Tri-State.
Two days after the Henderson Grandy’s closing, the Evansville location off of North First Avenue also shut its doors, according to the Facebook page, “Fingers, Fork, Knife & Spoon,” which reports on restaurant happenings in the Tri-State.
In addition to Grandy’s, Wings Etc. and Denny’s have recently shuttered while Jimmy John’s and Jersey Mike’s have recently opened.
Based in Nashville, Grandy’s opened its first store in 1972, focusing on homestyle comfort food such as fried chicken, country fried steak, fried catfish, vegetable sides, breakfast and its trademark Sinnamon Rolls.
The Henderson location at 2005 U.S. 41-North opened in 1983. Plans for the Henderson store by a Jasper, Indiana-based restaurant franchisee in a former Sambo’s restaurant building on the North Strip appeared in an article in The Sunday Courier & Press in Evansville in late 1982. The Grandy’s location in Henderson was mentioned in newspaper ads for Grandy’s by July 1983.
Wikipedia declares that at its peak, there were 200 Grandy’s locations around the country, though it didn’t state the year.
A 1983 New York Times article said at the time, there were 62 locations, including 20 company-owned stores and 42 franchise units.
A 1984 New York Times News Service article stated that the chain had grown to 85 units in 13 states and planned to open another 100 by June 1985.
Over the years, the company had several corporate owners. But the number of Grandy’s stores has been in steep decline. According to the Grandy’s website, just 22 stores remain in the U.S., though that hasn’t been updated to reflect some recent closures.
The Henderson store was the last one open in Kentucky; Grandy’s had formerly had a location at Towne Square Mall in Owensboro. There had once also been a Grandy’s at Evansville’s Eastland Mall.
Eighteen of the remaining stores listed at the Grandy’s website are in Texas or Oklahoma.
Vince Tweddell contributed to this report.