The Chronic Consumer

I know this isn’t exactly related to shopping, but I’m so bummed about the news that I just had to post it. Bennigan’s, which has been one of my favorite restaurants since high school (20+ years) is closing because of bankruptcy. Its parent company, S&A Restaurant Corp, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy today, and plans to close many of the 21 Illinois Bennigan’s locations.

According to an article in the Chicago Tribune, the Bennigan’s bankruptcy filing was unexpected, with restaurant managers getting phone calls in the middle of the night telling them to close the stores immediately. In fact, the article went on to say that a new employee showed up for his first day of work today only to see the restaurant shuttered. He didn’t know what was going on until a couple of passersby told him about the bankruptcy!!

Chapter 7 — the Bennigan’s bankruptcy in this case — is used when a company is going to liquidate its assets, as opposed to Chapter 11, which is used when a company plans to restructure. So it looks as though Bennigan’s will be gone for good pretty soon.

Again, I’m totally bummed by this. I’ve had such great times at Bennigan’s over the years… I always went there with my friends in high school and college, and even afterwards in my early to mid-20s. Food and fun at Bennigan’s, right????