What Happened to Restaurant City?

Restaurant City was a massively popular restaurant simulation game on Facebook developed by Playfish and launched in 2009. Players designed their own restaurants, hired virtual staff, cooked dishes, and served customers in real-time. At its peak, the game boasted over 17 million monthly active players before Electronic Arts shut down the servers on June 29, 2012, devastating millions of fans who had invested years building their virtual restaurants.

Launched in July 2009, Restaurant City arrived during Facebook gaming's golden age. Games like FarmVille, Mafia Wars, and Pet Society dominated the platform, and Playfish was already successful with games like Pet Society. Restaurant City became Playfish's biggest hit, combining restaurant management, interior design creativity, and social interaction in an addictive package.

The core gameplay loop was simple but engaging. Players started with a basic restaurant space and gradually expanded by earning coins through serving customers. You hired waiters, cooks, and janitors from your Facebook friends or random characters, each with skill levels that improved over time. Better staff meant faster service and happier customers, generating more coins.

Restaurant design was where the game truly shined. Players could customize every detail—floor tiles, wall colors, furniture placement, decorations, and themed items. The creativity was limitless. Some players created elegant fine dining establishments with white tablecloths and chandeliers. Others built quirky themed restaurants like beach shacks, medieval taverns, or futuristic diners. Visiting friends' restaurants to see their designs became a major part of the experience.

The ingredient and recipe system added depth. Players collected ingredients by visiting friends' restaurants daily, where ingredient crates would appear. These ingredients unlocked new recipes on your menu. Rare ingredients were highly coveted, and trading with friends was common. Completing your recipe book became an obsessive goal for dedicated players.

Social features were central to everything. Your friends appeared as customers in your restaurant, creating personal connections to the gameplay. You could hire friends as staff, visit their restaurants for ingredients, and leave tips. The game's viral mechanics encouraged players to recruit friends, expanding the player base rapidly through Facebook's social graph.

Playfish monetized through Playfish Cash, premium currency purchased with real money. While the base game was free, premium currency bought exclusive furniture, rare ingredients, instant completion of tasks, and decorative items unavailable through regular gameplay. Many dedicated players spent hundreds of dollars customizing their restaurants with premium items.

Restaurant City peaked in 2010 with over 17 million monthly active players, making it one of the most popular games on Facebook. The community was vibrant, with fan forums dedicated to sharing restaurant designs, trading strategies, and recipe guides. Players spent hours perfecting layouts, collecting rare furniture, and competing for the most impressive restaurants.

However, Playfish's acquisition by Electronic Arts in 2009 for $400 million eventually sealed Restaurant City's fate. EA integrated Playfish into its social gaming division but struggled to maintain the magic of independent development. By 2011, EA was consolidating its social gaming portfolio, looking to cut costs and focus on fewer titles.

In early 2012, EA announced that Restaurant City would shut down on June 29, 2012. The announcement devastated players. Many had spent three years building their restaurants and had invested significant money in premium items. The shutdown sparked immediate outrage across social media and gaming forums.

Players launched petition campaigns demanding EA reverse the decision. A Change.org petition gathered tens of thousands of signatures. Facebook groups dedicated to "Save Restaurant City" organized protests. Players flooded EA's social media with complaints. The outcry highlighted how deeply players had bonded with their virtual restaurants—these weren't just games, but creative projects and social spaces.

EA offered no compensation, refunds, or alternative. The company's official statement cited "difficult business decisions" and portfolio optimization. For players who had spent hundreds of dollars on Playfish Cash and premium items, the shutdown meant complete loss with no recourse. The incident became a flashpoint in discussions about digital ownership and consumer rights.

On June 29, 2012, Restaurant City's servers shut down permanently. The game became instantly unplayable. Opening the app showed an error message directing players to other EA games. Three years of restaurant designs, ingredient collections, and friend interactions vanished. Players took farewell screenshots and videos, preserving memories of their creations.

The shutdown had broader implications for Facebook gaming. It marked a turning point as major publishers began abandoning the platform. The era of casual Facebook games was ending, replaced by mobile gaming. Restaurant City's closure, along with other Playfish games, signaled that even successful games could be killed if they didn't meet corporate profit targets.

Former players created memorial websites and YouTube channels preserving Restaurant City memories. Screenshots of elaborately designed restaurants circulated social media like digital museums. Some players still gather in Facebook groups years later, reminiscing about favorite furniture pieces, challenging recipes, and friends made through the game.

No spiritual successor truly captured Restaurant City's magic. While other restaurant management games exist, none combined the creative freedom, social integration, and polished design that made Restaurant City special. EA's own attempts at restaurant games never achieved the same cultural impact.

For millions who played, Restaurant City represented peak Facebook gaming—a time when social games felt fresh, creative, and genuinely social rather than predatory. The game fostered real friendships through ingredient trading and restaurant visits. Some players met in real life through Restaurant City connections, attending conventions and organizing meetups.

The abrupt shutdown taught players a harsh lesson about always-online games. When a game requires server connection and all data lives on corporate servers, players own nothing. Companies can revoke access at will, regardless of time or money invested. Restaurant City's closure became a cautionary tale cited in gaming discussions about preservation and player rights.

Today, Restaurant City exists only in screenshots, YouTube videos, and memories. The game cannot be played through any means—no private servers, no offline versions, no archives. It's completely gone, preserved only through community documentation and nostalgia. For those who spent years perfecting their virtual restaurants, it remains a bittersweet memory of gaming's social era that couldn't last.