Post claiming Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen is closing after July 23 is missing context | Fact check

BrieAnna J. Frank, USA TODAY
Updated ·2 min read

The claim: Post implies all Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen locations are going out of business in July

A July 12 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) implies a restaurant chain that operates in 28 states won’t be around by the end of the month.

“Cheddars going out of business...the last day is July 23(FH),” reads the post.

“Whaaatttt!!!!!” reads one comment on the post. Another says the Facebook user is “not surprise(d).”

The post was shared more than 3,000 times in five days.

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Our rating: Missing context

The implication here is wrong. What many users reading the post missed is that the (FH) in the post is an apparent reference to Fairview Heights, a specific location that is closing in Illinois. The chain will continue to operate about 180 restaurants in more than half of the states in the country.

Cheddar's is still operating and hiring

The restaurant has made no announcement that it is going out of business on its official website or any of its social media pages. Darden Restaurants, which owns Cheddar’s and other chains including LongHorn Steakhouse and Olive Garden, similarly has no indication of an impending closure on its website.

“Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen is not going out of business,” said Darden Restaurants spokesperson Kristin Colville.

She added that the post referenced the closure of one location in Fairview Heights, Illinois, on July 23 and not the entire chain.

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Three new restaurants will open by the end of July, according to the Cheddar’s website. New locations opened in Tennessee on July 3 and Utah on July 17, and a Florida Cheddar's is scheduled to open on July 31.

The Cheddar’s website listed more than 1,200 open job positions at locations around the country as of July 17, including positions listed as recently as July 3.

Cheddar’s closed its headquarters after being acquired by Darden Restaurants in 2017, as reported by the Dallas Morning News. Nearly 70 employees were laid off as a result.

Many of the chain’s restaurants have closed their doors over the years. That includes an Alabama location that abruptly closed in 2015, an Illinois location that closed in 2021 because of disagreements between the franchise owner and corporate headquarters and an Ohio location that closed in March.

USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: No, Cheddar's is not closing all of its locations | Fact check