Ignite Restaurant (IRG) 10-K 2016 FY Annual report

Exhibit 32.1

CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO 18 U.S.C. SECTION 1350

AS ADOPTED PURSUANT TO SECTION 906 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002

In connection with the Annual Report of Ignite Restaurant Group, Inc. (the “Company”) on Form 10-K for the period ended January 2, 2017 as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on the date hereof (the “Report”), I, Robert S. Merritt, Chief Executive Officer of the Company, certify, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, to my knowledge, that:

1. The Report fully complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended; and

2. The information contained in the Report fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of the Company.

Date: April 3, 2017

/s/Robert S. Merritt

Robert S. Merritt

Chief Executive Officer