Beloved Locals BBQ restaurant shuts down

Locals BBQ, a popular Carson City restaurant that was thrust into the headlines as a result of the Sept. 6 IHOP shooting spree, has closed.

A sign in front of the eatery, at 3849 S. Carson St., reads: "To our loyal customers: We are going to miss you tremendously in our future. You have brought us joy in providing you the best, but we had to make the decision to cease operations. We hope to see you around town. Thank you for everything. The Swaglers."

It is unclear exactly when the beloved eatery closed. A previous sign on the restaurant said it had been closed for renovations. The restaurant had been open for about five years.

Owner Ralph Swagler's phone number is unlisted, and there was no answer at the store's number. The phone number on the business license has been disconnected.

The closure comes about three months after the deadly IHOP shootings across the parking lot from Locals BBQ. Gunman Eduardo Sencion, 32, shot the store at least 10 times with an automatic assault rifle in a spree that left five people, including the gunman, dead.

The restaurant had also just been named to the 2011 Rand McNally Road Atlas feature "Best of the Road."

Allen Lorenz of Lake Tahoe snapped a picture of the closure sign with his cellphone Thursday night. He had planned to meet some of his friends there for dinner. Sitting in the passenger seat of his car was his adopted dad, who was visiting from California.

"It was a great locals' place," Lorenz said.