A Riverbank eatery, a nearly 10-year staple of the local restaurant scene, was closed this past week. According to social media reports, employees received virtually no advance warning.

Cool Hand Luke’s, a steakhouse and bar on Patterson Road, abruptly closed its doors in late July. The restaurant was located adjacent to the IMAX portion of Riverbank’s Galaxy Luxury+ Theatres.

In early June, the restaurant teamed up with the theatre chain as it usually does to host Riverbank’s contribution to the annual Graffiti Week, with a classic and hot rod car show in the common parking lot between the two businesses.

Local media reports indicate that the Cool Hand Luke’s locations in both Turlock and Madera closed in a similar manner near the end of May.

Reports of the Riverbank closure began appearing on social media on Saturday morning. A check of the company’s website over the weekend showed only five remaining locations open in California: Clovis, Tulare, Paso Robles, Santa Maria and Yuba City.

No information on the Turlock, Madera or Riverbank locations remain on the site.

In Riverbank, Cool Hand Luke’s has been a long standing location, near the Galaxy Theatres, although, when the theatre complex was built, the original occupant was a movie-themed restaurant, called Flix. It featured several dining areas that boasted decor from different movie genres, including Star Wars/Sci-Fi and ‘30s Mystery Movies.

Cool Hand Luke’s was also in the news here when a kitchen fire broke out in October of last year. The restaurant reopened for business quickly after repairs were made.