SACRAMENTO Calif. Carlson Restaurants Worldwide has pulled the rights of the T.G.I. Friday’s franchisee here following a lengthy dispute and closed 10 of his stores in California, Oregon and Washington.
Holding companies of the franchisee, Abe Alizadeh of Roseville, Calif., on Friday reopened 70 Jack in the Box restaurants in Northern California after they were shut down on Wednesday by state tax collectors. The Jack in the Box resale permits had been revoked by the California Board of Equalization for owing more than $4.2 million in sale taxes, among the largest sums owed in the state.
The Friday’s closures were the result of a separate and lengthy dispute with Alizadeh, Carlson officials said.
The Carrollton, Texas-based company ordered Alizadeh to stop operating the restaurants under the T.G.I. Friday's name, affecting the franchised units in the Sacramento area as well as Oregon and Washington.
"We have worked closely with the owners for more than two years trying to find a solution," said Carlson Restaurants spokeswoman Amy Freshwater. "The owners of these restaurants have not met their obligations to T.G.I. Friday's during this time."
The restaurants could reopen, but not under the Friday’s flag, officials said.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for Alizadeh told KXTV-Channel 10, the ABC television affiliate in Sacramento, that the Jack in the Box sales tax permits had been restored after a Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection filing.
"Our focus in the days ahead will be to return to normal business operations and to work cooperatively with our creditors to complete this process as quickly as possible," Alizadeh said in a written statement to KXTV. "We apologize to our customers and our employees for the disruption in service, deeply appreciate their patience and are eager to resume fulfilling our commitment to them."
Alizadeh is president and founder of Kobra Properties, a real estate development company, which filed for bankruptcy protection last year.
Contact Ron Ruggless at [email protected]