Turlock's Cool Hand Luke's restaurant abruptly locks its doors

A popular Turlock eatery closed its doors last week, and its future is unclear.

Cool Hand Luke's, which has operated for more than a decade on Tegner Road near Costco, has been shuttered. On Thursday afternoon, the doors were locked and the phone number was disconnected. The Turlock location also has been removed from the corporate website.

A review on website Yelp of the Turlock site said the restaurant there closed with no warning to employees, putting 35 people out of work.

The Cool Hand Luke's restaurant in Madera also closed this week, according to the website Big Valley News. Posts on the Madera Cool Hand Luke's Facebook page show employees posing on their last day Tuesday.

"Well friends, the doors are closed," employee Monica Hakola posted on the page. "We love all of you."

Tom Pilloud of Fresno operated both locations under a franchise agreement; he could not be reached for comment Friday.

Public records show a lien levied against Pilloud in April for more than $32,000 in unpaid taxes in connection with the Madera restaurant.

The closures leave six Cool Hand Lukes restaurants operating in California, including one in Riverbank.

This story was originally published May 20, 2018 at 5:40 PM with the headline "Turlock's Cool Hand Luke's restaurant abruptly locks its doors."