The Max & Erma’s in the Montrose area of Fairlawn abruptly shut down after business Sunday, following reports last month that the restaurant had been spared in a round of closings.
The closing of the more than 20-year-old Max & Erma’s comes after a Montana company said that it was buying the Max & Erma’s chain from American Blue Ribbon Holdings of Nashville, Tenn.
Glacier Restaurant Group of Whitefish, Mo., said Jan. 25 it was buying the chain, which touts its sandwiches and “hand crushed burgers.”
News of the purchase came a week after American Blue Ribbon unexpectedly closed 13 Midwest Max & Erma’s, including four in Ohio.
Those four included two in Northeast Ohio: locations in Jackson Township in the Belden Village area of Stark County and in Westlake. The two others were near Dayton and Toledo.
Officials with Glacier and American Blue Ribbon could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
On Jan. 18, American Blue Ribbon released a prepared statement that said it was closing the 13 restaurants because it was “in the process of streamlining operations,” dealing with “underperforming locations.”
According to news reports, a statement from American Blue Ribbon said that a member of its senior leadership team was at each restaurant the morning of the closings to “personally deliver” the news “and to provide each and every team member with a severance agreement.”
News organizations apparently pieced together the locations of the 13 affected restaurants ; it does not appear that American Blue Ribbon released a list of sites.
At that time, the Montrose Max & Erma’s remained open. The permanent closing Sunday apparently came as a surprise to customers and employees. Cards on tables promoted Valentine’s Day specials.
Signs on the doors of the closed Montrose Max & Erma’s thank customers for their patronage and provide a phone number for “payroll and benefits questions.”
The sign says gift cards are valid at all Max & Erma’s locations.
On Tuesday, Glacier Restaurant Group, the new owner of the remaining roughly 50 Max & Erma’s locations, was not listing the Montrose restaurant among its Ohio sites on the Max & Erma’s website. The site lists two dozen Ohio Max & Erma’s, including restaurants in Mentor and Middleburg Heights. These sites were open Tuesday.
The Montrose Max & Erma’s is in a commercial area that boasts a mix of national and Ohio chains.
Nearby, on West Market Street, is the former Friendly’s restaurant that is set to become the first Summit County location of the popular Melt Bar & Grilled chain based in Cleveland.
The Max & Erma’s chain, which grew from a single restaurant in Columbus in 1972, filed for bankruptcy protection in 2009, and American Blue Ribbon bought it in the next year.
At Glacier, Max & Erma’s joins four restaurant brands owned by the company: MacKenzie River Pizza Grill & Pub, Ciao Mambo, Craggy Range Bar & Grill and Latitude 48.
American Blue Ribbon Holdings owns O’Charley’s and other restaurants, including Bakers Square.
Katie Byard can be reached at 330-996-3781 or kbyard@thebeaconjournal.com. You can follow her @KatieByardABJ on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com.