Nashville has lost both of its Joyland locations as the fast casual chain becomes the latest casualty in the ongoing financial collapse of Birmingham based Pihakis Restaurant Group.
The East Nashville and Sylvan Park Joyland restaurants have both shut their doors, adding to a growing list of closures tied to Pihakis, the company that partnered with chef Sean Brock’s burger concept in 2024 to help take it beyond Tennessee. Brock opened the original East Nashville Joyland in 2020 before expanding to a second spot in Sylvan Park.
The shutdowns are the newest sign of trouble for a restaurant group that has been unraveling for months. As of May, roughly 14 of Pihakis’ approximately 25 restaurants had already closed, whether temporarily or for good. At that point, the company was already facing close to $13 million in lawsuits, tax liens and other financial claims. That number has since climbed past $23 million, according to court filings.
Vendors, lenders and landlords say they haven’t been paid
Court documents paint a picture of a company falling behind on payments across the board, from suppliers to property owners to lenders.
One lawsuit, filed April 27 in Shelby County, Alabama, claims more than a dozen restaurant entities connected to Pihakis owe food supplier Evans Meats nearly $394,239 in unpaid invoices. The suit names several of the group’s concepts, including Rodney Scott’s BBQ, Little Donkey and Hero Doughnuts, and alleges Pihakis personally guaranteed a portion of the debt, adding another $220,639 to the total. An Alabama judge sided with the meat supplier in June.
Landlords have also gone after the company, filing liens worth millions of dollars against properties tied to Hero, Little Donkey and Rodney Scott’s BBQ. One amended lien connected to Birmingham properties, where Joyland also has a presence, tops $1 million on its own.
American Express National Bank has piled on as well, filing new lawsuits seeking repayment of hundreds of thousands of dollars the bank claims it’s owed.
As of July 11, the combined total of lawsuits and liens against Pihakis had surpassed $23 million, based on court records and reporting from Alabama outlets. Those cases are still working their way through the legal system, and the company has not responded to requests for comment.
Employees clear out Nashville locations
The cleanup was already underway by Sunday, July 12, when staff at the Charlotte Avenue Joyland in Sylvan Park were packing up, just days after the East Nashville location was cleared out.
Joyland’s signature red, yellow and blue chairs sat stacked inside, kitchen equipment had been shut down, and the restaurant sat empty during what would normally be a busy lunch hour. A few people stopped to look through the windows as employees finished closing things down.
A sign taped to the door of the East Nashville location read simply: “Closed Permanently.”
A staff member at the Sylvan Park restaurant also confirmed to The Tennessean that Joyland’s Charleston, South Carolina location has closed as well, suggesting the brand’s troubles extend well beyond Middle Tennessee.