National steakhouse returning to central Ohio with restaurant in former O'Charley's
Watch a previous NBC4 report on O'Charley's Ohio closures in the video player above.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- A national steakhouse, which once operated several central Ohio restaurants that shuttered after the chain filed for bankruptcy, is returning to Columbus after purchasing a former O'Charley's that closed last year for $2.6 million.
Logan's Roadhouse acquired the property home to the shuttered O'Charley's at 1657 Stringtown Road on May 8, according to the Franklin County Auditor's Office. The new restaurant will mark Logan's Columbus return, after the chain's Easton location at 3969 Morse Crossing and Dublin restaurant at 7100 Sawmill Road both closed around 2016 when the chain's previous owner filed for bankruptcy.
Once completed, the new location will bring Logan's Ohio footprint to three restaurants, with one location at 2170 W. 4th Street in Ontario and the second at 3720 Stone Creek Blvd. in Cincinnati.
The former O'Charley's is one of six Ohio restaurants that shuttered last year, among nearly two dozen locations that have closed in recent years. The Nashville-based chain closed the Stringtown Road eatery and a Westerville-area restaurant at 285 Cleveland Ave. in November.
The closures came after O'Charley's Morse Road and Georgesville Square locations shuttered in August, along with the Miller Lane and Miamisburg Centerville Road restaurants in Dayton.
"Like many brands in the casual dining space, we have faced unprecedented disruptions to our business over the last few years," said W. Craig Barber, O’Charley’s CEO, in a statement. "It is always a difficult decision to close a store, but the decision aligns with a variety of actions to ensure we continue to thrive as a brand."
One former O'Charley's that shuttered several years ago is undergoing a $1.5 million renovation to become the first Ohio restaurant for a Brazilian steakhouse with locations across the globe, including in Dubai, Toronto and Istanbul.
The brand now only operates two restaurants in central Ohio, one at 6224 Gender Road in Canal Winchester and another at 2272 Baltimore Reynoldsburg Road in Reynoldsburg.