Consumer

MIAMI (CBS4) ― South Florida lunchtime diners were surprised Tuesday to find their neighborhood Bennigan's restaurant closed without warning, after the company moved to shut down 300 restaurants nationwide and file for chapter 7 bankruptcy. Thousands of employees will be fired, and some workers were told there was not enough money to pay them through the week.

The shutdown also includes the Steak and Ale chain, which has 2 locations in South Florida. It is one of the country's largest restaurant bankruptcies and eliminates longtime casual dining chains, which will liquidate with little chance of re-opening.

Late Monday, managers at Bennigan's and Steak & Ale were told not to open restaurants Tuesday, according to managers who took the telephone calls.

Some employees have been told there would not be enough money to pay them for the rest of the week.

A sign posted on the front of the Bennigan's, located at 11460 North Kendall Drive announced its closure and thanked all of its loyal customers for years of support. An employee of the restaurant told CBS4.COM that he received a phone call Tuesday morning informing them to cease operations effective Tuesday.

Monday was their last day of business.

For other employees the nasty surprise came more abruptly.

"I was asking them if we are on the verge of closing and they said no don't worry about it," said former Bennigan's employee Daniel Rodriguez. "So they lied to us."

"You go to work one day and the next day their closed, said Stephan Davis.

For Davis, who is expecting a son in just four weeks, the news couldn't come at a worse time.

"This is actually the second time it's happened to me," said Davis.

Two months ago Davis was laid off from Roadhouse Grill—another national chain now bankrupt and in liquidation.


There are 6 Bennigan's restaurants in South Florida, and CBS4.com confirmed 4 had been closed. Nobody answered the telephone at the Davie restaurant, but at the location on N. Federal Highway in Ft Lauderdale was claimed by employees to be open, with one worker claiming "I'm making burgers now."

The closed Bennigan's restaurants are located at 11460 N. Kendall Drive in Kendall, 3449 Le Jeune Road in Miami Springs, 3499 North University Drive in Sunrise; and the manager of the location at 665 NW 62nd Street in Fort Lauderdale told CBS4.COM that they are closed today for "renovation".

There was no answer at either Steak and Ale location, one in Kendall and the other in Ft. Lauderdale.

Employees and management teams were not given any warning at all. "I am as upset as all of the employees are," said an employee at the Kendall location who did not want to be identified.

When CBS4.COM contacted the restaurant's area director, he would not comment, but Leah Templeton, a spokeswoman for the company, told the Wall Street Journal by email that the companies that filed bankruptcy cases are popularly known as Steak & Ale, Bennigan's and Tavern restaurants.

Templeton said only company-owned stores are included in the bankruptcy filing, and that stores operated by franchisees are not a party to the bankruptcy proceedings.

Metromedia Restaurants Group in Plano, Texas, and also operates Ponderosa and Bonanza steakhouse chains which currently have no restaurants in South Florida. They are not included in the bankruptcy filing.

Bennigan's was founded in 1976. The restaurant has locations in 32 states including six South Florida locations.

This is the second major restaurant chain to close in Florida in recent months. Roadhouse Grill, which was headquartered in Palm Beach County, abruptly shut locations down in May of 2008.

(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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