The last three of what was once an eight-location chain of Bru’s Room Sports Grills in South Florida have permanently closed.
Ten days after a Facebook post urged customers to “Let Bru’s Room cater your next event,” Google marked two of the three locations listed in the post as permanently closed.
The final three restaurants were located in Coconut Creek, Pembroke Pines and Boynton Beach. Google still listed the Boynton Beach location as open, but no one answered the phone at any of the three locations in the middle of the afternoon on Tuesday.
Earlier this year, the company shut down its locations in Delray Beach, Coral Springs and Deerfield Beach.
The restaurants were popular destinations for sports fans who would come in to see their favorite teams play on a wide array of video screens.
Although it offered a large menu, the chain became known for its “smash burgers” and “Triple Threat” chicken wings.
But traffic fell off in recent years as reviews on social media sites noted that food quality was declining.
Michael Laughlin / Sun Sentinel
Bru’s Room Sports Grill was known for its “smash burgers” and chicken wings. (Michael Laughlin/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
While several of the restaurants had been closing, it appeared that the final three were making an effort to survive.
Numerous messages advertising specials had been posted on Facebook during the first weeks of May, including one promoting a “2 for $20” entree menu posted as recently as May 13, and another touting half-priced Happy Hour drinks posted on May 9.
Michael Laughlin / South Florida Sun Sentinel/South Florida Sun Sentinel
Former Miami Dolphin Robert “Bob” Brudzinski, former Miami Dolphins linebacker, puts his Bru’s Room burgers in competition during the annual Boca Raton Burger Battle in July 2019. (Michael Laughlin/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
The remaining Bru’s Room, on South Federal Highway in Pompano Beach, is independently owned. Signs identify it as “Eddie Hauck’s Wings ‘N Ribs Bru’s Room.”
Eddie Hauck, who partnered with former Miami Dolphins linebacker Robert “Bob” Brudzinski in the 1900s to create the first Bru’s Room Sports Bar next to Hauck’s Wings N’ Ribs in Margate, broke away from Brudzinski about 12 years ago and assumed sole ownership of the Pompano Beach location.
Someone representing Hauck’s restaurant posted a message on Facebook on Monday saying that news of the closures of the last chain-owned Bru’s Rooms “hits our heart hard!”
“We are so saddened by this news because what Eddie Hauck and Bob Brudzinski created was fantastic!” the post read.
It also reminded diners that the Pompano Beach restaurant remained open and “we aren’t going anywhere.”
“This year marks 50 years of Eddie Hauck being in the restaurant business,” the post continued. “That is a huge milestone, especially in the times that we are in now! Some may not know this but his huge start 50 years ago was Wings ‘N Things, which then lead him to partner with Bob and open up Bru’s Room. Eddie is still in his restaurant everyday working! He is a genius when it comes to chicken wings and building a hell of a restaurant/bar.”
The post mentioned that Brudzinski “is still our family and hopefully he will pop in once in awhile.”
Neither Brudzinski or Henry Rondon, whom he partnered with after splitting with Hauck, could be reached for comment on Tuesday.
Ron Hurtibise covers business and consumer issues for the South Florida Sun Sentinel. He can be reached by phone at 954-356-4071, on Twitter @ronhurtibise or by email at rhurtibise@sunsentinel.com.