At the end of last year, Slater’s 50/50 opened a branch in Oakridge, San Jose. Now, under one year later it has closed for good. The reasons for its closure are unknown and publically, the company has not mentioned anything.

Overall, this isn’t too surprising as many big chains are often quiet when closing restaurants. News first circulated of its closure when San Jose locals reported the news on social media. Here, customers turned up to find the restaurant was completely shut. However, it has since been confirmed on its Google profile, which lists it as permanently closed.

Speculating online, ex-customers argued that the dining experience wasn’t that great, and neither was the food. On Reddit, one user claimed: “You cannot run a sit-down restaurant without servers or a host. Ghost staffing will always lose.” This was in response to Slater’s lack of front-of-house staff which would have been done to save money, albeit this strategy may have backfired where customer support was concerned.

While this may not have been the main reason for the closure, it’s fair to assume that something must have gone very wrong. Even though operating a restaurant may be a tough gig, rarely do they close after a few months. 50/50 Slaters is a chain based on burgers and beer. Their signature item is the 50/50 burger, which is a patty made with 50% beef and 50% bacon.