Steak And Ale Closing

via CNN

Steak and Ale Closing, Files for Bankrupcy with Bennigan's

Restaurant chains Bennigan's and Steak & Ale have filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection and will shut their doors, less than two months after their parent company said it was not preparing to do so.

The companies filed for bankruptcy protection on Tuesday 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.
'Closed for business'

Employees at a Bennigan's in Plano were greeted by a sign Tuesday on the front door reading "WE ARE CLOSED. THANK YOU." Next door, a Steak & Ale sat empty in a deserted parking lot but there was no sign posted.

A waiter named Steve, who wouldn't give his last name, said the staff got a phone call Tuesday morning telling them the restaurant was closing.

Neither Bennigan's nor the Metromedia Restaurant Group returned calls for comment. A lawyer listed in the filing, J. Michael Sutherland of Carrington, Coleman, Sloman & Blumenthal LLP, did not return a call.

According to a recorded message on the law firm's answering system, not all stores using the Bennigan's and Steak & Ale trade names have filed for bankruptcy and some franchise locations were not included in the filing.