Permanent closure for North Ave. Bakers Square

By Michael Romain

The Bakers Square at 1319 W. North Ave. in Melrose Park per manently closed its doors on Jan. 16. On Monday, a screenshot of the official store closing announcement spread on social media.

A representative with the company could not be reached on Monday evening, but the store’s per manent closure is listed on the Bakers Square website

The store closure comes nearly three years after the pie and comfort food restaurant chain was acquired by BBQ Holdings, Inc., a multi-brand restaurant company that owns Famous Dave’s and Granite City Food & Brewery. That year, VIBSQ LLC, the for mer parent company of Bakers Square, closed.

Ironically enough, BBQ Holdings announced in 2022 that it would grow the number of Bakers Square locations from 18 to 55 by the end of last year. Most of those new locations are “ghost kitchens,” also known as “dark kitchens” deliveryonly kitchens

“We can put Bakers Square pies into all of our restaurants,” CEO Jeff Crivello told Restaurant Business in 2022. “We can get into retail and other wider distribution. Whereas a lot of Bakers Square restaurants have closed over the years, people are still asking for pies.”

So far, there’s no word on what will replace the North Avenue location.