The Kings Family Restaurant on Route 66 in Salem closed for good this week, after more than three decades in business.
“Over the course of the past year, moving from regular business to strictly carryout, this is a restaurant we just weren’t able to keep, from a financial standpoint,” said Alisha Merico, marketing manager for the Kelly Restaurant Group. “Leases come up and we have to determine whether it’s viable to keep it open.”
Eight Kings locations in Western Pennsylvania — not including the one in Salem — were up for sale in January as part of a master lease portfolio, but company officials said they are all expected to remain open.
The chain currently has 14 locations in Western Pennsylvania, Merico said.
Kings Founder Hartley King sold his 30 restaurants to San Diego-based Kelly Operations Group in 2015, which maintains corporate offices in Pittsburgh and San Diego.
“There are no plans to close any Kings in the future,” Merico said. “We’re actually launching a new menu next Wednesday. We’re adding some new omelettes and some new pancake options like cinnamon roll and cookies-and-creme pancakes.”
Chefs for the company are also adding a T-bone steak to the menu.
Merico said recent easing of coronavirus restrictions has been positive.
“We’re at 75% capacity, and that’s certainly helpful,” she said. Throughout the course of the pandemic the local chain, which started in North Versailles in 1967, has worked to adapt, adding ghost kitchen operations like the Nashville Hot Chicken Shack.
“We also have a Kings food truck that we can take around to outdoor event,” Merico said. “Last summer, obviously, there weren’t a lot of big public events or food truck festivals, but this summer we already have 40 events planned.”
