Logan’s Roadhouse closes its doors suddenly in Columbus

After a run of more than two decades, the Logan’s Roadhouse in Columbus has served its last mesquite wood-grilled steak, burger and mozzarella sticks appetizer.

The restaurant at 2643 Manchester Expressway closed for good on Sunday night. Staffers said the lease had not been renewed on the property because it had apparently become too expensive.

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The departure of Logan’s Roadhouse frees up a prime location for another restaurant or retail brand, with the former Logan’s situated at the heavily trafficked intersection of Manchester Expressway and Armour Road, which also is adjacent to the Interstate 185 interchange. Peachtree Mall and Columbus State University are nearby to the east, as is the large St. Francis Hospital just to the west.

Still, some customers were not pleased at all with the decision by the restaurant company to shut the doors of the longtime Columbus location.

“I cannot believe after all these years this place is closing,” patron Jeffrey Brown posted on the Facebook page of the Columbus Logan’s Roadhouse. “I think it's sad that they did not think enough of Columbus and the community to keep this place going. A lot of people have spent a lot of great memories in this place over all the years. It's not fair to the community and especially the employees! Shame on you Logans!”

Logan’s had been open since 1996, with it first appearing on Muscogee County real-estate tax records in June of that year when it bought the property from Chesser Enterprises Inc. Records show it began leasing the 8,781-square-foot structure in 2006.

The Columbus restaurant apparently wasn’t the only location to close over the weekend. The Logan’s in Douglasville, Ga., west of Atlanta, also was shutting its doors on Sunday, reported the Douglas County Sentinel.

Nashville, Tenn.-based Logan’s, owned by private equity firm Kelso & Company, filed for bankruptcy protection in August 2016. It then targeted more than 20 of its more than 250 restaurants for closure, including three in the Georgia cities of Albany, Brunswick and Savannah. The chain, founded in 1991, exited bankruptcy in December 2016.

Known for its menu of mesquite wood-grilled steaks, chicken, seafood, burgers, sandwiches and buckets of peanuts that customers shelled and nibbled on while waiting for their orders, the Columbus restaurant garnered mixed online reviews for its food and service.

“I love this Logan's! They are not all created equal,” wrote Leigh Stephens in late December on the restaurant’s Facebook page. “The service is always great. We've never experienced food outages. And my steak is always grilled to perfection! I've highly recommended this restaurant in the past and will continue to do so.”

“It's not a bad place to go. Food is good and service is good,” said Jerimiah McIntosh on a review via Google.

However, Cyndi Cross Silva, who also dined at the location in late December, was less than impressed. “Awful food and awful service,” she said in a Logan’s Facebook post. “We were served our food on dirty plates and it took forever for them to round up silverware for us. The food was by far the worst I have ever eaten. My family and I will not be returning to this establishment.”

Said Camille Thompson within the last week on Google: “Me and my husband sat in the bar (and) the bartender did not greet us, didn't give us straws and i had to ask if we were getting bread. She acted as if we were bothering her and continued to give her attention to one of the customers instead of paying attention to every body else. This lady is getting a dollar from me. That's it!!!!”

The departure of Logan’s Roadhouse on Manchester Expressway comes with the Columbus restaurant market growing steadily among locally owned eateries, as well as national and regional chains.

Those still wishing to dine at a Logan’s Roadhouse can motor over to Opelika, Ala., one of the company’s restaurants at 2400 Gateway Road.

This story was originally published February 19, 2018 at 7:26 AM with the headline "Logan’s Roadhouse closes its doors suddenly in Columbus."