It’s officially the end for Cheeseburger in Paradise: The causal dining chain has permanently closed its last restaurant, located in Secaucus, NJ. Parent company Luby’s in September had approved plans to liquidate and sell its assets.
Cheeseburger in Paradise, named for the Jimmy Buffet song, was founded in 2002 as a partnership with Buffett’s Margaritaville Holdings and OSI Restaurant Partners (now Bloomin’ Brands), with OSI’s Outback Steakhouse operating the restaurants. The island-themed chain was operating 36 units in 2009 when Paradise Restaurant Group acquired it. Luby’s, which also owns the Fuddruckers restaurant brand, bought Cheeseburger in Paradise in 2012.
Luby’s had been steadily closing Cheeseburger locations over the years. The Secaucus restaurant was the last one standing when it closed temporarily in March due to the coronavirus, and then permanently as of last month.
There is still a Cheeseburger in Paradise in Hawaii that is separately owned. But for the chain, a message on the restaurant’s website states: “Thank you for supporting Cheeseburger in Paradise. All of our restaurant locations are now permanently closed.”