TV Restaurants

What Happened to The Chicken Bone After Bar Rescue? (Framingham, MA)

Closed verified

As of September 2026, The Chicken Bone has closed — confirmed via the business's own closure notice, February 1, 2024.

Primary source
realitytvupdates.com ·

Last verified

What the source shows: The bar's own Facebook page announced a summer 2014 shutdown "to reduce the impact of the slow season" with plans to reopen after Labor Day; an October 2014 follow-up post cited permitting delays, and the bar never reopened, per Reality TV Updates' documentation of the bar's own Facebook statements.

  • Season / episode Season 1, Episode 7
  • Original air date
  • Address 358 Waverly St, Framingham, MA 01702

Interactive map — loads when you ask for it.

Everything on this map is also in the list below.

© OpenStreetMap contributors © CARTO

What happened after Bar Rescue?

The Chicken Bone had been open in Framingham, Massachusetts for about five years when Bar Rescue's crew arrived. Owner Bill Rodenhiser, a former excavating-company owner with no prior bar experience, had also opened and closed a second Chicken Bone location in downtown Boston within five months. The 42,000-square-foot Framingham bar was taking in roughly two million dollars a year in revenue but still losing money; recon visits described an unwashed floor, a confusing menu with misspellings, spoiled chicken in the kitchen's walk-in cooler, and a family-friendly atmosphere -- complete with children running around -- that worked against the space functioning as a bar.

The rescue's changes focused on tightening the menu, correcting food-safety issues in the kitchen, and retraining bartenders on consistent pours. Jon Taffer also pushed to change the bar's name, over the owner's initial objection, settling on The Bone: Chicken and Tunes as a shorter, more upscale-sounding identity. On relaunch night, kitchen computer problems briefly backed up food orders, but staff worked through it and reported a positive response to the new drinks, food, and live music.

Reviews in the following years describe the business drifting back toward its earlier habits: the five-page original menu returned, the pre-rescue decor came back, and by 2014 the bar's own signage and marketing had reverted to The Chicken Bone name. In a statement posted to its own Facebook page, the business said it would suspend operations for the summer of 2014, calling summer "a very slow time of year," with plans to reopen after Labor Day; a follow-up post that October cited permitting delays and said no firm reopening date was available yet. The bar never successfully reopened, closing for good in November 2014, a little over three years after its Bar Rescue episode aired. The owners later attempted to sell the business for $175,000 without success. A Mexican restaurant, El Mariachi, later occupied the same Waverly Street building before also closing in 2020; more recent accounts describe the property as vacant and fenced off.

Featured on Bar Rescue

Season / episode
Season 1, Episode 7
Original air date
Episode title
Bad To The Bone
What was featured
family-friendly bar's overhaul and rebrand into The Bone: Chicken and Tunes
Role
Featured restaurant
Name on the broadcast
The Chicken Bone

Frequently asked questions

Is The Chicken Bone still open in 2026?

As of September 2026, The Chicken Bone has closed — confirmed via the business's own closure notice, February 1, 2024.

What happened to The Chicken Bone after Bar Rescue?

The Chicken Bone had been open in Framingham, Massachusetts for about five years when Bar Rescue's crew arrived. As of September 2026, The Chicken Bone has closed — confirmed via the business's own closure notice, February 1, 2024.

Is The Chicken Bone permanently closed?

As of September 2026, The Chicken Bone has closed — confirmed via the business's own closure notice, February 1, 2024. We publish a closure only with a dated source behind it, and we say plainly when it has not been independently confirmed.

Where is The Chicken Bone located?

358 Waverly St, Framingham, MA 01702. That is the address on the record as of September 7, 2026.

What season and episode of Bar Rescue featured The Chicken Bone?

Season 1, Episode 7 of Bar Rescue, first aired August 28, 2011. The episode is titled “Bad To The Bone”.

Did the makeover last at The Chicken Bone?

The episode first aired August 28, 2011. Our most recent check was September 7, 2026 — 15 years later —: As of September 2026, The Chicken Bone has closed — confirmed via the business's own closure notice, February 1, 2024.

What do reviews say since Bar Rescue?

Reviews in the following years describe the business drifting back toward its earlier habits: the five-page original menu returned, the pre-rescue decor came back, and by 2014 the bar's own signage and marketing had reverted to The Chicken Bone name. We summarise what dated sources report; we do not publish our own rating.

Is The Chicken Bone still using the Bar Rescue menu or branding?

The 42,000-square-foot Framingham bar was taking in roughly two million dollars a year in revenue but still losing money; recon visits described an unwashed floor, a confusing menu with misspellings, spoiled chicken in the kitchen's walk-in cooler, and a family-friendly atmosphere -- complete with children running around -- that worked against the space functioning as a bar. Anything newer than our last check on September 7, 2026 may not be reflected here.

Every status on this site carries a confidence label and a date, and names the source it rests on. Read the Editorial & Corrections Policy for what each label means and how quickly we act on corrections. The questions above are generated from this record's own published fields — we never publish a question we cannot answer from the data.

More from Bar Rescue

Every Bar Rescue restaurant we track

Other TV restaurants in Massachusetts

All Massachusetts locations

Nearest tracked restaurants

Visit info

Address
358 Waverly St, Framingham, MA 01702
Venue type
bar
Official website
None found

Businesses change fast. Always confirm directly with the restaurant — call ahead, or check its own current website or social media — before making plans around anything on this page.

Sources

See something wrong?

We work hard to keep every status accurate and dated, but restaurants change fast and our sources aren't perfect. If something here is wrong — a status, a name, an address, anything — tell us what you're seeing and where you saw it, and we'll check it.

See something wrong? Tell us →

Share this page

Record br-007 · last verified .