Most People doubtless suppose that Chili’s pioneered the sale of ribs in the US. That chain, nonetheless, was really extra well-known for bringing one other in style menu staple nationwide.
The chain is actually happy with its ribs, but it surely actually takes credit score for instructing People to pronounce one in every of its signature menu gadgets.
“Chili’s opened its first restaurant on the nook of Greenville Avenue in Dallas in 1975. Again then, the restaurant was often called a burger shack with 25 menu gadgets, beer, and margaritas included. In 1986, Chili’s popularized an rising dish referred to as fajitas (the menus at the moment spelled out find out how to pronounce the dish: “fa-heet-ah”). From there, Chili’s taught People find out how to sing about child again ribs,” the chain shared in a press launch.
And whereas Chili’s was rising the marketplace for ribs within the Eighties, so was one other chain that has not seen the identical degree of sustained success.
There was a interval the place, alongside Chili’s, Damon’s was a fast-growing model.
“The Columbus-based sports activities bar and rib purveyor as soon as dominated its little informal area of interest. However then issues modified. New, comparable ideas, each chains and independents, entered the scene, economies in its core markets tanked, and Damon’s suffered not solely from rising visitor indifference, however from its personal identification disaster as nicely,” Meals Service Director shared.
The chain has survived a chapter and noticed its retailer depend climb to over 150 at its peak. Now, solely a handful of impartial operators preserve the title alive.
Damon’s had a sluggish, regular collapse.
“There have been liquidity points. We have been $40 million in debt, and we have been dropping cash. Not a great way to run a enterprise,” former CEO Carl Howard instructed Meals Service Director.
Howard resigned in 2007 after 17 months on job, in keeping with Nation’s Restaurant Information. The corporate’s fortunes arguably solely obtained worse from there.
The general market in 2009 and 2010 was not nice for many eating places.
“Anticipate continued slower site visitors,” Tim Powell of Technomic mentioned at an trade occasion in 2009, Nation’s Restaurant Information reported. “Lots of people should not going to be ok with going out to eat. There’s a methods to go earlier than we see a rebound.”
Technomic additionally shared some information for 2010:
Foodservice gross sales this yr will drop 3.8% on a nominal foundation, which incorporates the idea of two.5% in menu-price inflation, because the trade was arduous hit by slashed shopper spending through the “nice recession.”
Projections for 2010 embody a 0.8% nominal decline in whole foodservice gross sales, which displays an inflation fee of 1.5%, as forecast by Technomic.
The three years of 2008 via 2010 mark the weakest time-frame in foodservice historical past, Technomic executives mentioned.
Throughout that interval, not solely have same-store gross sales slowed for almost all eating places.
Knowledge from one other analysis agency backed these numbers up.
“Restaurant visits declined throughout all segments and in all 4 quarters of 2009, leading to a total-year decline of three% versus year-end 2008, in keeping with The NPD Group,” Media Publish reported.
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The yr 2009 was typically a foul one for eating places.
“NPD estimates that shopper spending in eating places declined 1.2% [in 2009] — the primary decline recorded in such spending for the reason that market analysis agency started monitoring the foodservice trade in 1976. The gross sales decline mirrored each the weak site visitors and solely modest progress in examine dimension,” Media Publish added.
Damon’s Grill was arguably one of many creators of the fashionable sports activities bar idea.
The chain, nonetheless, in some methods created its personal issues.
“Damon’s was based in Columbus in 1979. It grew via the Eighties and Nineteen Nineties. They have been on the reducing fringe of the TV sports-bar idea with ribs within the space,” in keeping with Columbus Restaurant Historical past.
The success of the idea led to copycat rivals.
“As time went on there have been sports activities bars popping up on nearly each nook, and lots of eating places serving ribs proliferated,” the location shared.
“There have been over 150 items, however that quantity declined to 88 by 2006, when a North Carolina real-estate developer purchased it. Two years later, the idea was purchased by a Pittsburgh developer. And in 2009, Damon’s… filed for chapter safety.”
The chain suffered from being a bit too broad in a market that was turning into extra area of interest.
“Whereas franchising allowed Damon’s to rapidly set up a nationwide presence, it additionally created challenges in sustaining consistency in high quality and repair throughout all places. Because the model grew, it struggled to obviously outline its goal demographic. Was it a household restaurant? A sports activities bar? A late-night hangout? This lack of focus blurred its identification and made it tough to compete successfully with extra specialised chains,” Chef’s Useful resource shared.
Damon’s Grill constructed its popularity on ribs.Shutterstock
Damon’s Grill emerged from Chapter 11 chapter in 2010, but it surely got here out of the method with many fewer places. That has dwindled additional lately, but it surely does nonetheless exist.
“Regardless of the widespread closures, a handful of Damon’s Grill places nonetheless function, primarily below franchise agreements. These surviving places symbolize a testomony to the model’s preliminary enchantment and the loyalty of its remaining prospects. Nevertheless, they’re a far cry from the intensive chain that when dominated the informal eating scene,” in keeping with Chef’s Useful resource.
The chain now has 5 places, however no company construction.
The Damaged Chains Weblog, which seeks out and visits surviving places of previously giant chains, visted one of many final Damon’s Grill places.
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“The truth that this Damon’s and 4 others are nonetheless in enterprise ten years after their company mum or dad gave up on them tells a unique story. The cities that also have a Damon’s location clearly maintain them in excessive sufficient regard that they have been in a position to preserve their doorways open regardless of all odds, and I am glad they’ve,” the writer shared.
At its peak, Damon’s Grill operated over 130 eating places throughout 29 states and several other worldwide places.
1979: Damon’s was based in Columbus, Ohio, in keeping with Columbus Restaurant Historical past.
Eighties-Nineteen Nineties – progress interval: The chain expanded considerably throughout these many years, build up what would turn out to be a big community of informal‑eating/sports activities‑bar eating places, Columbus Restaurant Historical past reported.
By early 2000s – peak dimension: The chain reportedly had “almost 150 items” at one level, shared Restaurant Hospitality.
2002 onward – decline begins: Trade reporting signifies that gross sales and retailer counts started to drop, in keeping with Restaurant Hospitality.
2006: The corporate reportedly was carrying round $40 million in debt and experiencing liquidity points, wrote Restaurant Hospitality.
By 2006 – shrinking footprint: The variety of U.S. places reportedly dropped to round 88, Columbus Restaurant Historical past reported.
October 2009 – chapter submitting: Damon’s Worldwide filed for Chapter 11 chapter, in keeping with the official courtroom docket.
2011-2012 – main contraction: By 2011, gross sales had fallen to about $70 million (down sharply from earlier years), 24/7 Wall St. shared.
2012 – additional closures: Some franchise‑ or lease‑based mostly eating places closed; for instance, a former Damon’s Grill constructing in Ann Arbor was put up on the market after the restaurant closed as a result of a lease settlement couldn’t be renewed, in keeping with Ann Arbor Information.
2017 – instance of an area closure: A Damon’s Grill & Sports activities Bar website in Steubenville (on College Boulevard) introduced its closure after “greater than 20 years” at that location, reported the Herald Star On-line.
Later years – principally defunct: What stays of Damon’s seems to be a handful of former franchise places; public information and restaurant‑historical past analyses describe Damon’s as largely shut down, Damaged Chains Weblog reported.
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This story was initially printed by TheStreet on Dec 14, 2025, the place it first appeared within the Eating places part. Add TheStreet as a Most well-liked Supply by clicking right here.
