CLARKSVILLE, TN (WKRN) – Nashville-based O’Charley’s Restaurant & Bar is closing all its remaining locations nationwide, including its eight locations in Middle Tennessee.
According to Clarksville Now news partner WKRN-Channel 2 in Nashville, restaurant managers at six of the eight locations who confirmed staff at all locations were notified the restaurants will close Wednesday at 8 p.m. O’Charley’s has disabled its social media accounts and has not responded to multiple inquiries, said WKRN.
Clarksville, Dickson employees share perspectives
In Clarksville and Dickson, former employees and customers recalled the restaurant has been much more than a place to eat.
“It was just really a bummer. Like, I have friends who have said that they’ve been crying, they can’t sleep because so many memories built there over the years, and it’s, it’s hard to see it go,” explained former employee Leslie Bolin.
“I was in disbelief. I was very sad for my friends who were still working there, you know, and mostly just because there was no notice given to them,” said Austin Jenkins.
O’Charley’s was founded by Charles Watkins on 21st Avenue near Vanderbilt University in 1971. Watkins sold the business in 1984 to David Watchel, who had spent more than 20 years at Shoney’s. Watchel expanded O’Charley’s into a chain with 45 locations by 1993.
The company operated 52 locations across the country as of earlier this year.
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