PEORIA, Ill. — Citing the financial strain of the COVID-19 pandemic, the owner of Peoria’s Golden Corral announced Sunday that the restaurant was closing indefinitely.
In a statement, Phil Caplis blamed Gov. J-B Pritzker for the closure, saying, “Pritzker’s words and actions have directly discouraged people from supporting the restaurant industry in Illinois.”
Golden Corral was shutdown by Gov. Pritzker’s executive order in March, but rehired 53 of its 95 employees when phase four of the Restore Illinois planned allowed for dining indoors.
Caplis said the restaurant’s current level of sales could not sustain the business and that the Golden Corral building at the corner of University and War Memorial may be repurposed.
