6 days ago
Bobcat Bonnie's Ferndale closing Monday
The Brief
Bobcat Bonnie's in Ferndale is closing after Monday.
This closure comes after the original Bobcat Bonnie's location in Detroit's Corktown closed in March.
The local chain will have one location left in Lansing.
FERNDALE, Mich. (FOX 2) - Bobcat Bonnie's Ferndale, the last Metro Detroit restaurant that remained of the local chain, is closing for good Monday.
The restaurant, known for its brunch bloody Mary and mimosa bars, announced Sunday night that there would be one last day of service before the doors close.
"Thank you Ferndale for truly changing so many of our lives. And thank you for changing mine- and building my confidence to be myself without wavering. It is so empowering to live in this community," owner Matthew Buskard wrote on Facebook.
Bobcat Bonnie's will be open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday, or until the restaurant sells out, with drinks for only $5. Then, a liquidation sale will begin Tuesday.
After Monday, only one Bobcat location remains - Lansing.
It appears the Grand Rapids location, which has been in the process of moving, will not reopen.
Dig deeper
This closure comes after the original Bobcat Bonnie's location in Detroit's Corktown closed in March.
The flagship closure also followed the closure of Bobcat's Partridge Creek, Ypsilanti, and Wyandotte locations.
Bobcat Bonnie's Ypsilanti closed shortly after a group of several employees made allegations of bounced pay checks, and inconsistent scheduling. They called for a picket as they sought better working conditions, but canceled this picket after reaching an agreement with the owner.
Ferndale's closure comes after the eatery reached out on social media last week, seeking a partnership to help bring change to the restaurant chain.
"We would ideally like to find a partner who can come in, help us stabilize operations, allow us to handle what we are good at (in unit operations, customer service, building the business, getting our quality back, etc.) and they can handle all the financial stuff and bookkeeping (something we have always struggled at.)," Buskard wrote on social media.
What's next
In the post announcing the closure, Buskard wrote that another restaurant operator will be taking over the space. It is unclear when this will happen.
The Source
Previous FOX 2 stories and social media posts from Bobcat Bonnie's were used in this report.
