NEW YORK, July 29, 2008

Bennigan's Goes Bust, Steak & Ale Too

Restaurant Chains File For Bankruptcy, Will Liquidate Assets, Close Stores

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(AP)  Restaurant chains Bennigan's and Steak & Ale have filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection and will shut their doors.

The companies filed for bankruptcy protection in the Eastern District of Texas. Their parent company - privately held Metromedia Restaurant Group - is based in Plano, Texas.

In a Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing, a company seeks to liquidate its assets and shut down.

In the filing, the company indicated that it has up to 49 creditors. It said it will have no funds left after administrative expenses are paid to repay its creditors.

Neither Bennigan's nor the Metromedia Restaurant Group returned calls for comment.


© MMVIII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Add a Comment See all 18 Comments
by cheetah-man7 July 29, 2008 2:07 PM PDT
Why am I not surprised to hear this? First a few banks, now the restaurants and next the retail stores. Since when can companies file for bankruptcy and simply walk away? Individuals can no longer do this, so why companies? Another ploy by the Republicans...
Reply to this comment
by pollroller1 July 29, 2008 3:08 PM PDT
We used to have a Bennigan''s near us. We ate there a couple of times. They didn''t last too long. Too much competition I suppose.
Reply to this comment
by cheetah-man7 July 29, 2008 3:52 PM PDT
Posted by pollroller1 "We used to have a Bennigan''''s near us. We ate there a couple of times. They didn''''t last too long. Too much competition I suppose. "


___________________________

You must be from Florida.... There is a restaurant, a church, a bank, and a funeral home on every corner. Bennigan''s probably could not handle TGI Friday''s, Applebees, and Olive garden competition.

Reply to this comment
by pollroller1 July 29, 2008 4:13 PM PDT
cheetah-man7 Our main residence is in North Carolina, but we do spend the winters in Florida.
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by walt1944-2009 July 29, 2008 4:34 PM PDT
With a "business friendly" Great Emperor in the Oval Office, the Great Emperor is disturbed that so many retail places are going bankrupt.

After all, the Great Emperor believes that the economy is "strong"(??????), people have money (dollars that are worthless and a few pennies in their pockets), corporate profits are up (and staying up there in corporate "heaven"), and that talk of a recession is nothing more than an evil, cowardly Progressive plot!

So, the sight of empty stores for rent and half-finished shopping malls sitting unfinished is upsetting and puzzeling to the Great Emperor Bush II. His only solution to this problem is to DRILL FOR OIL!!!!!!!!!

SIG HEIL, BUSH!!!!!
sig heil, TOTALLY MORE OF THE SAME, "SURRRRRRRGE" McCain!!!!!



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by tootsie1963 July 29, 2008 4:37 PM PDT
THE PROBLEM WITH PLACES LIKE THIS IS THAT THEY CHARGE TOO MUCH FOR THE WHAT AND THE AMOUNT THEY SERVE YOU, THEN IF YOU ASK FOR EXTRA SAUCE OR MORE BREAD...THEY WANT TO CHARGE YOU...THEY NEED TO HIRE FRIENDLY PEOPLE AS WELL....BENNIGANS HAS RUDE PEOPLE ESPECIALLY THE HOSTESSES...RUDE RUDE RUDE
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by thgdriver July 29, 2008 7:31 PM PDT
Actually my SUV gets 14 mpg city and 18 highway. It''s a very comfortable, seats 7, 2003 AWD Mountaineer V8. When you consider that some small, uncomfortable, underpowered, usually stuck in the snow, dangerous sedans get 18 city 24 highway. The trade off is not worth the few extra MPG.
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by kevzgrl July 29, 2008 7:55 PM PDT
I agree with cheetah-man7, this restaurant company files for bankruptcy protection and will pay off a few of their creditors, at a fraction of what they owe, and that will be it. However, what about the wages they owe their employees for the last few weeks they worked? My guess is they will be at the end of the line, holding out their hands, only to be told "Sorry, there was only so much to go around" Most of them won''t be eligible for unemployment, as they were not making enough per week to qualify, so they are out of luck there, also.
That in turn will trickle down to the rest of the economy, because even though they were never paid a LIVING wage, they still made some money and paid taxes. Who will be next to hit the chopping block?
Thanks, Mr. Bush, I feel so optomistic about the economy right now - I am sure you are right, we are just in a temporary dip....
Reply to this comment
by my2centss July 29, 2008 7:57 PM PDT
What no taxpayer bailout? Like the banks are getting.
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by whitemale08 July 29, 2008 8:21 PM PDT
More evidence that Reagan''s trickle-down supply-side voodoo economics dowsn''t work.

Once the "big box retailers" start laying off low wage workers, that''s when you know that the Republican "tax cuts for the rich" have failed.
Reply to this comment
by July 29, 2008 9:22 PM PDT
BC_Kelly:
nice post

there will be more
Reply to this comment
by rushlimpdrug July 29, 2008 10:03 PM PDT


Posted by BC_Kelly at 02:16 PM


Very good post


Posted by thgdriver at 07:31 PM

- too bad for you.

Reply to this comment
by element51 July 29, 2008 10:53 PM PDT
This just shows what average food, high prices and poor service will get you. We used to go to Steak n Ale for birthdays and anniverseries but stopped several years ago due to the above. These places need to listen to their customers until they reach the place where Wal Mart is and then they can ignore the customer knowing it won''t matter.
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by wardoglrs July 30, 2008 9:36 AM PDT
http://www.rapidtrends.com/blog/
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by morganbarber July 31, 2008 1:05 PM PDT
Only the strong will survive, not the mismanaged.
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by payasyougo July 31, 2008 2:12 PM PDT
Hey, former Steak&Ale employees:

Who has the recipe for that bread you serve? I''ll give you five bucks for it.
Reply to this comment
by valentin73 August 1, 2008 1:10 AM PDT
I wonder who''s next in line:
Chili''s
TGIF
Why do good restaurants have to close down?
Funny how Ding Dong restaurants are still around:
Jack in the box
Burger King
Wendy''s
McDonald''s (oops, sorry Micky Dee''s)
Reply to this comment
by tomsand70 August 1, 2008 8:33 AM PDT
I just received a gift certificate for anniversary what do i do? just received it th 25th of july?? who do i contact?
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