Another beloved restaurant is shutting down its operations.
Jenkins Quality Barbecue, a 68-year-old institution, said it will close all three of its Jacksonville, Florida, locations and its online store on September 30.
It is the latest in a string of restaurants to announce closures amid high food prices and a decline in consumer spending on dining out.
The restaurant’s yellow-painted walls and red mansard roof opened its doors in 1957. Meats were cooked on an open brick pit that billowed smoke out of a chimney.
Jenkin’s menu features low-priced barbecue classics: $8.50 chicken sandwiches, a $30 slab of ribs, and $7.25 for Pork on a bun.
Many plates were slathered with the store’s much-hyped hot mustard sauce and sandwiched in a seeded bun. In 2023, it was named the state’s best barbecue joint by Food Network.
But recent Google reviews have not been as kind.
‘This place was amazing back in the day,’ one customer said in their two-star review. ‘I gave Jenkins another chance and was not impressed. I actually gave my sandwich to feral cats.’
The iconic restaurant drew in well-to-do crowds – Sen. John Kerry stopped by the shop during his failed Presidential bid
Jenkins Quality Barbecue announced plans to shut down its stores by the end of the month
Jenkins is also closing its online shop, where it shipped its sauces.
The company currently sells pint-sized bottles and half-gallon jugs of its BBQ sauce.
But the last day for online orders is Sunday, September 21.
‘We appreciate your loyalty over the years, and we will miss you,’ the company wrote in a farewell post on Facebook.
‘We look back not with heaviness, but with our hearts brimming with gratitude.’
It comes as several household-name restaurants have announced bankruptcy filings, mass closures, and staff cuts in a difficult restaurant environment.
Red Lobster, Hooters, TGI Fridays, On The Border, Roti, and Bertucci’s — all restaurants that catered to middle-income Americans — have all filed for bankruptcy in the past two years.
Meanwhile, giant fast-casual chains like Sweetgreen, Cava, and Chipotle have all announced lower sales numbers than expected.
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The restaurants are largely facing two major strains: increased costs and lower customer traffic.
Monthly inflation rates are starting to increase again, after customers fought through 9 percent price hikes in 2022.
That baked-in food inflation had already made running a restaurant significantly more expensive.
Now, with food prices ticking up again, companies are concerned it will continue to hurt their bottom line.
But two restaurants have somehow ridden the wave of uncertainty to banner sales: McDonald’s and Chili’s.
The golden arches reported a major sales increase after launching price-cutting promotions on their iconic products, like the $5 meal deal.
Chili’s, meanwhile, has leaned heavily into price-slashing options, like $11 burgers and value meals. The company just reported a 24 percent jump in sales.