NEW YORK Bennigan’s franchisees are looking at buying and reopening 30 to 50 of the company-owned units shuttered July 29 when parent S&A Restaurant Corp. filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
Rob Carringer, a managing partner of CRG Partners Group LLC, which is helping the franchisees during the restructuring, said Atalaya Capital Management LP had taken over the brand and had hired 14 employees to oversee such operations as marketing and information technology.
S&A Restaurant Corp., the owner of the Bennigan's and Steak & Ale brands, was owned by Metromedia Restaurant Group of Plano, Texas, a division of John Kluge’s Metromedia Co. A total of 132 franchised units in the United States and abroad were not included in the bankruptcy filing and remain open.
Carringer said the Bennigan’s franchising operation, Bennigan’s Franchise Co. LP, still plans to open a Bennigan's restaurant in Cancun, Mexico, on Aug. 22, and new stores in Acapulco, Mexico, and McAllen, Texas, in September.
Some franchisees are still considering whether to honor Bennigan’s or Steak & Ale gift cards. Some competitors, including Texas Roadhouse Inc. of Louisville, Ky., and Logan’s Roadhouse of Nashville, Tenn., are already honoring the cards or offering free entrees in exchange for the cards through the end of August.
