CHEYENNE — Deven Lee just started a new job at Old Chicago here a week ago, but found out Sunday he, and all of his coworkers, are out of their jobs.
“Went in for my bartending shift at Old Chicago, to get told not to clock in,” Lee wrote in a post on Facebook. “Then an all-employees meeting with two corporate folks talking about them closing the location as of (Sunday) evening at 6 p.m.”
Lee told Cowboy State Daily those already in the restaurant were served what they’d ordered before the restaurant shut its doors for good.
No reason was given to employees by the corporate officials for the sudden closure.
In an email to Cowboy State Daily, SPB Hospitality Communications Director Ryan Russell said the decision was multi-faceted.
“Our decisions on restaurant closures are influenced by everything from real estate, new restaurant decisions and lease-negotiation strategies,” he said. “We do not take these decisions lightly and, after careful review, we have made the strategic decision to close this location.”
Russell said the company appreciates its customers and efforts of employees over the years.
“We want to express our sincere gratitude to our employees and patrons who have supported us over the years at this location,” he said. “We are grateful for the memories and experiences we have shared together, and we will always cherish the relationship we have built with the local community.”
Other locations owned by SPB Hospitality will continue to operate as usual, Russell added.
The Old Chicago restaurant in Cheyenne abruptly and permanently closed Sunday night. Signs on the front doors Monday inform customers. (Greg Johnson, Cowboy State Daily) 
The signs on the front doors of Cheyenne's Old Chicago say it all. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily) 
After closing permanently Sunday evening, some crew were at Old Chicago in Cheyenne to clean and pack up some stuff. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily)
Mixed Reviews
Online reactions to Old Chicago’s closing were a mixed bag Monday, ranging from really good to really bad reviews.
“Damn. My husband and I really liked that place,” Shauna-Wade Clark posted. “Never had a bad experience at least when we sat at the bar. How sad!”
Others felt that the restaurant had been on a long, downhill slide.
“I’ll be honest. I’m surprised that it stayed open this long,” Will Luna wrote in a response to Deven Lee’s post in the Facebook group Cheyenne Community Connections. “Each and every time we tried to go and give it another chance, it was just another opportunity for disappointment. Poor service and long wait times. Wish it would have held, I love OC, but the Cheyenne location could never quite get it together.”
Some were more focused on closing the restaurant without giving the employees any notice.
“It’s pretty awful they didn’t even let any of the employees know it was closing down so they could’ve been prepared for (and) looking for other employment,” Shayla Westerlund Shuey wrote.
Others said that is typical of restaurants closing down.
“They do that because of the employees that would want to ‘go out in a blaze of glory’ by doing something stupid,” Don E. Odom wrote. “I’ve seen it happen when a factory I worked at gave notice of closing down. Vandalism, theft, purposely screwing up product, etc.”
A group of employees at the restaurant Monday packing up bottles and cleaning up the place told Cowboy State Daily that some employees were considering responding to some of the posts, which they felt mischaracterize their store.
“It’s not about what they’re saying online,” one of the employees told Cowboy State Daily.
Good Pizza, But Not Really Chicago Style
Chicago’s decadent deep-dish pizzas were invented in the 1940s and have a devoted following among those who love a deep-dish pizza.
Opinions vary whether it was invented by Pizzeria Uno founder Ike Sewell or by pizza chef Rudy Malnati, a co-manager of Pizzeria Uno, and/or Pizzeria Uno chef Alice May Redmond. But, regardless of who invented it, what sets the Chicago-style pie apart from all others is its extremely deep-dish crust, at least an inch deep, which allows room for more sauce and toppings than normally served.
Because of that, cheese gets layered on a Chicago-style pizza first, followed by the selected toppings and then, finally, the sauce. This ensures the cheese doesn’t end up burning while the pizza bakes.
Old Chicago’s pizza crust is not nearly as thick as traditional Chicago-style. Toppings and cheese are also all on top, instead of baked inside the pie.
One of the things Old Chicago was really known for, besides its pizzas, was its around-the-world tour of 110 beers, including 30 on tap.
Customers could eventually get their name on a plaque in the Hall of Foam for tasting all the beers — although, at no more than four beers credited to the wall per day, that could still take some time to achieve.
Casper, Gillette, Rock Springs Not Closing
People will still be able to get Old Chicago pizza in Wyoming. The three Old Chicago stores in Casper, Gillette, and Rock Springs are owned by the Johnson Restaurant Group and are not closing, Cowboy State Daily was told by an employee with the Casper location.
“It’s just the one in Cheyenne that’s closed,” the employee said. “John owns stores in Wyoming, Montana, North and South Dakota, and all of John’s stores are staying open.”
The employee added that the Johnson Restaurant Group used to own the Cheyenne Old Chicago’s restaurant, but sold it some time ago.
“They’ve been trying to get him to buy it back, but he doesn’t want it,” the employee told Cowboy State Daily before saying she needed to go due to a long line at the counter.
According to documents filed with the Wyoming Secretary of State’s office, the Cheyenne store is owned by SBP Hospitality, with a mailing address in Houston Texas.
It was incorporated in Delaware, however, and started out with a mailing address in New York in 2020.
The mailing address changed to Houston in 2022. SPB’s last Wyoming Secretary of State report was filed April 4.
A quick Google search shows a number of Old Chicagos have closed in recent years, both leading up to and following the COVID-19 pandemic, suggesting the chain has been struggling for a while.
The largest number of closures came from parent company Craftworks, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on 261 locations in March 2020. The 261 closures included Logan’s Roadhouse restaurants, as well as Old Chicago.
Not long after that, however, Craftworks announced that, due to the pandemic, its lender had backed out on the financing needed to keep 261 restaurants operating while the company reorganized under Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Then in May 2020, SPB Hospitality announced it was buying the Old Chicago and Logan’s Roadhouse chains from Craftworks for $93 million, a figure that included debts forgiven by the lender.
At the time, the CEO of SPB Hospitality said he planned to grow the number of Old Chicago locations in both 2021 and 2022.
Renée Jean can be reached at renee@cowboystatedaily.com.
