Rancheritos, a Mexican food chain, provide burritos, super nachos and tacos from its outlet in Provo, Utah.

The memorial came from the mind of Henry Fye, a student from Brigham Young University and Rancheritos regular, who noticed the signs on the restaurant were gone and the place was empty.

Assuming that the restaurant had closed its doors for good, he posted to his Instagram page that a memorial service would be held in its honour. A day later, Mr Fye learned the restaurant was only closed for remodelling and that it will soon reopen. Since the invitation had already been posted, and only a few people had engaged, he decided to go ahead with his service.

Come the day of the event, about 500 people showed up outside the restaurant for an opportunity to collectively grieve their loss.

“I was a little overwhelmed, just because, you know, a lot more people than I thought,” Mr Fye told Fox13.

The crowd came together to sing Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” but used the word Rancheritos in place of the title, holding candles and shining their phone flashlights.

“I was a little nervous. But honestly, it was fun,” said Mr Fye. “I feel like everybody had fun. And you know, it was just, I don’t think that anybody left thinking, ‘Oh, this was a waste of my time.’ Like, it was a fun night, you know, and it was fun.

“Everybody had a good time.”