After another closure, here are the last 7 Houlihan’s in NJ

Houlihan's, the fast casual restaurant with the Blue Whale drink that comes in a glass almost the size of a fish bowl, was one of my favorite places. That's when there was one in Lawrenceville. That was in 2019 when the chain filed for bankruptcy protection. I hated to see it go.

Especially how it went. Very abruptly. No notice. And it just happened again.

Now the Houlihan's in Cherry Hill on Route 70 has suddenly shuttered with a sign left on the locked door.

We’re closed. We are deeply saddened to announce the permanently closure of this location. We value our employees, their dedication to the company and we are working to relocate them immediately to one of our locations nearby. We are grateful for the support of our community and encourage local patrons to visit our closest location in Brick Township.

I wondered if that sign was how some workers found out they were out of a job. I also wondered how many customers would be traveling to that nearest Brick location. It is 52 miles away and a 1 hour 10 minute drive without traffic.

Other abrupt Houlihan's closures in the past few years include Bridgewater, Parsippany, Weehawkin, Woodbridge and Hasbrouck Heights.

So what's left? Not much. Only 7 in the state of New Jersey.

They are...

151 Lefante Way
Bayonne

491 Rt 70
Brick

2136 Rt 35
Holmdel

55 Rt 1
New Brunswick

65 E State Rt 4
Paramus

706 Rt 17
Ramsey

700 Plaza Dr
Secaucus

Will we be adding Houlihan’s to the Jersey nostalgia scrap heap one day next to names like Two Guys, Jungle Habitat, Bradlees and Gino’s? Stay tuned.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Jeff Deminski only.

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