Just 14 months after the City of Albertville cleared the way for John Hardy’s Bar-B-Q, and less than a year after its grand opening, the restaurant in the former Perkins location has closed its doors.
Signs were hung on the front doors Monday thanking customers for their patronage and stating JLC, owners of the restaurant, had put the building and all supplies and equipment up for sale.
Hardy’s, started by John Hardy, operates two locations in the medical mecca of Rochester, but both paled in size comparison to the restaurant building JLC unveiled as the chain’s third location last winter.
The John Hardy story is one of barbecue lore. Born in Birmingham, Alabama, Hardy moved north with a foundry company job to Buffalo, New York. He cooked barbecue on the side, eventually feeding workers at sites around New York. He wound up later in Minnesota, where in 1972 he opened his first restaurant on Third Street Southeast in Rochester. It became the stuff of local legend.
A second location followed, and Hardy continued to experiment with his own sauces and smoking meats with cherry and apple woods.
The two locations in Rochester continue to operate.