In bad news for fans of the "Famous 'Shrooms," Houlihan's, the restaurant chain dating back to the early 1970's, has closed its location in Garland, on the south side of Firewheel Town Center at 660 Town Center Blvd., where it had been open for 15 years.

According to Houlihan's COO Bill Leibengood, the restaurant had reached the end of its lease.

“Following the end of our lease agreement, Houlihan’s at 660 Town Center Blvd. ceased operations on August 24, 2025," Leibengood says. "We extend our heartfelt thanks to the Garland community for their loyal support over the years. We look forward to continuing to serve guests at Houlihan's Denton and other locations nationwide.”

The location had been there since early 2010, opening a few years after the Firewheel Center itself opened in 2005. The closure appeared to be an 11th-hour decision since they were still touting their $10 lunch deal as recently as July. Sadly, the Garland Chamber of Commerce will now have to find another site for its September 23 happy hour. Houlihan's filled the niche for this kind of meet-up and so many more.

The closure leaves only one Houlihan's in the Dallas-Fort Worth area: Denton at 3120 Town Center Trail, next to the Embassy Suites off University.

That means one last outpost if you're craving their trademark Famous Shrooms stuffed with garlic-herb cream cheese, their bargain lunches, their happy hour deals, their Bavarian pretzel twist "bigger than your face," their Thai chili wings, brownie batter cake, reasonably priced steaks, and great service.

Houlihan's was founded in 1972 in Kansas City, initially known as Houlihan's Old Place, due to its location in the former Houlihans Clothing Store — one of a wave of restaurants from the '70s that fell between fast-food and fancy, offering steaks at an affordable price, in a fun atmosphere. The chain was good about keeping up with the times, adding gluten-free and vegan dishes such as the crispy cauliflower stir-fry with General Tso-style sauce over brown rice, with stir fried red bell peppers, snow peas, and scallions.

They opened their first location in Dallas at 5225 Belt Line Rd. in 2007, followed by locations in Allen, Arlington, Fort Worth, and Garland. Dallas was not their first foray into Texas. According to a DBJ article, Houlihan's originally operated two locations in Houston in the early 90s, then tried again in 2005.

"But after opening just one Houlihan's -- which closed after eight months in operation -- restaurateur Mohammed Amin mutually agreed with the company to tear up his contract," the article says. They also opened a location in downtown Austin in 2006, which only lasted six months. In 2007, they had 92 restaurants total.

After changing ownership a few times, Houlihan's filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2019 — among the many concepts dealt a blow by the pandemic. They closed a number of locations including Dallas and Fort Worth, and were subsequently acquired by Landry's. There are currently 27 locations across the U.S.