The Fatburger-Round Table Pizza at Lantana Town Center in Bartonville is listed as open online, but a sign on the door indicating a change in locks means it is closed for good.
The California-based chain restaurant opened its Bartonville location in October of 2023, but it suddenly locked its doors on June 4.
A routine inspection from the Fire Prevention Division of Denton Emergency Services District No. 1 on May 29 revealed that the business had multiple safety concerns that needed to be fixed.
According to officials, two commercial kitchen ventilation hoods had not been properly cleaned, inspected or tagged as required by applicable fire safety codes.
The associated Ansul Fire Suppression System was also out of compliance with regulatory standards.
“To protect the safety of employees, customers and the broader community, the use of cooking appliances under the affected hoods was temporarily suspended,” said the Fire Marshal’s report.
Fatburger could still make other items, but was not able to use those certain ventilation hoods until it got an inspection and certification by a licensed fire protection contractor, installed updated compliance tags and had Denton ESD No. 1 Fire Marshal’s Office reinspect the issues.
Megan Reynolds, who is in charge of Denton ESD No. 1’s community outreach and public relations, emphasized that the department did not shut down Fatburger.
“We didn’t shut down the restaurant, we just shut down the appliance,” she said. “We don’t know if they closed or not, they haven’t told us. We just said that they cannot use the appliance until it gets inspected.”
Signs on the door from the property owner NewQuest indicate that the locks have changed because the monthly rent payments are overdue.
The Gazette was not able to get in contact with Fatburger ownership at the time of reporting.
