HomeTown Buffet in Clovis has closed

The HomeTown Buffet on Shaw Avenue in Clovis closed this week.

The restaurant’s parent company, which includes several restaurant chains, filed for bankruptcy in March. It has closed more than 150 locations since the beginning of the year, including a HomeTown Buffet in Merced.

Ovation Brands owns other chains including Tahoe Joe’s. There are no plans for Tahoe Joe’s locations in Fresno or Visalia to close.

A representative of Ovation Brands declined to comment on why the store closed, but emailed this statement: “This closure was a business decision and is in no way a reflection of the hard work of the location’s management or employees. We appreciate the community’s patronage and hope to serve you at one of our other locations in the future.”

Some of the restaurants that closed earlier this year did so abruptly.

That appears to be the case with the Clovis location. A sign on the window thanks customers for their business.

The two Fresno locations, at 3617 W. Shaw Ave. and 3744 N. Blackstone Ave., remain open.

Buffets LLC, which does business as Ovation Brands, bought HomeTown Buffet and other restaurant chains last year, according to Reuters. The company later filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy – a reorganization – blaming a lawsuit that it says wasn’t disclosed when buying the restaurants. The lawsuit eventually resulted in a $11.4 million judgment, and sales at many restaurants have not met their goals, according to Reuters.

This story was originally published September 21, 2016 at 3:02 PM with the headline "HomeTown Buffet in Clovis has closed."