Old Chicago Pizza closing in Okemos; contents of restaurant to be auctioned off
OKEMOS — Greater Lansing is set to lose a longtime chain restaurant.
Old Chicago Pizza + Taproom is closing its Meridian Township location on West Grand River Avenue later this week, said Ed Ouellette, president of Biddergy.com. The online auction company, based in Kalamazoo, is set to sell off the contents of the restaurant later this month, he said.
Charity Selick, general manager at the Okemos restaurant, confirmed the closure when reached at the restaurant Thursday morning, but declined to comment further.
The restaurant, 1938 W. Grand River Ave., will serve customers for the last time on Saturday before closing permanently, Ouellette said.
It's unclear why the location is closing or how many people it employs. No notice of the impending closure was posted to the restaurant's Facebook page or website Thursday morning. The Detroit Free Press reported that the company's Southfield location has closed. It's unclear if a Midland location is remaining open.
SPB Hospitality, the Houston, Texas-based company that owns Old Chicago Pizza + Taproom didn't immediately respond to an email on Thursday.
The chain has occupied the building near the corner of West Grand River Avenue and Marsh Road for at least two decades.
News of the closure comes less than a week after an Old Chicago Pizza + Taproom location in Southgate closed its doors on March 3. Biddergy.com auctioned off the contents of that restaurant on March 7, Ouellette confirmed.
The online auction of contents at the Meridian Township restaurant is set for 8 a.m. March 25. Ouellette said it will include selling all of the location's kitchen equipment, seating, signage and decorations.
"It'll include booths and all their kitchen equipment, so it'll be completely empty," he said.
SPB Hospitality, a multi-brand affiliate of Fortress Investment Group, took over operations and management of Logan’s Roadhouse, Old Chicago Pizza & Taproom, Rock Bottom Brewery, Gordon Biersch, ChopHouse & Brewery, Big River Grille & Brewing Works, AIA Ale Works Restaurant & Taproom, Ragtime Tavern Seafood & Grill, and Seven Bridges Grille & Brewery in June 2020 after the original owners went into Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
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Contact Reporter Rachel Greco at rgreco@lsj.com. Follow her on X @GrecoatLSJ.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Old Chicago Pizza closing in Okemos; contents of restaurant to be auctioned off
