Bennigan's, Steak & Ale restaurants close

Colleague Mark Albright has just reported that national restaurant chains Bennigan's and Steak & Ale have closed their doors and filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection, closing more than 300 locations and laying off thousands of employees. It is one of the largest restaurant bankruptcy filings in U.S. history.

Here in the Tampa Bay area, this is a heavy hit, with 10 locations in the area, nine of which have closed. Only the Channelside location (615 Channelside Drive, Tampa), a franchise, remains open at this time. Closures include four Bennigan's locations in Tampa (18001 Highwoods Preserve Parkway, 2206 E Fowler Ave., 2520 N Dale Mabry Highway and 9206 Anderson Road), one in Brandon (2210 W Brandon Blvd.), one in Clearwater (2640 Gulf to Bay Blvd.), two in St. Petersburg (9900 Fourth St. N, 2190 Tyrone Blvd. N) and one in St. Pete Beach (4625 Gulf Blvd.). As per Steak & Ale locations, it looks as though there was a single location in the area (204 N Westshore Blvd., Tampa). No one is answering the phone today.

In a dense playing field at this "fast casual" price point (T.G.I. Friday's, Ruby Tuesdays, Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar, Chili's Grill & Bar, etc.), Bennigan's demise is probably just another example of what analysts have been saying for a while: The economy is driving lower income guests to fast-food restaurants, to competitors with lower prices or to eat at home more often. Competitors have responded to this trend by launching new added-value campaigns or lower-priced prix-fixe options.

Just this past week T.G.I. Fridays debuted a new "Give Me More Stripes' Members-Only Free Food Initiative," rewarding frequent diners. Romano’s Macaroni Grill restaurants have begun offering guests additional value at lunch and dinner, with full-sized entree and a personal-sized dessert every day for $9.99. Outback Steakhouse has just instituted new affordable menu options between the hours of 4 and 6 p.m. The list goes on.

The jury's out on what led to this recent bankruptcy, but there's no doubt that the big "fast casual" players are going to have be fleet of foot to respond to diners' current financial concerns.

[Getty Images]

Comments

[Dr_Dug]

Sad....
Although they call themselves our leaders (they were elected our represenitives), The AssClowns running our Country need to get fired. By thier own voice they like to call themselves our leaders......well if that true...then your fired. ALL incumbents need to go..!!!
Look at the mess you've put everyone in..
Our leaders suck and it's sad to see another person lose thier job!!

[Jenn]

Very Very Sad - Happy Hour was great and the servers were awesome. Sorry for all the people that have lost thier job!

[Just me]

benningans wasnt very good. how did they last this long?

[hank]

This group was in trouble long ago, even before Metromedia took control. You may or may not know that this is the group who also owned Ponderosa/Bonanza. The people at HQ in Plano have been bailing out for some time as the writing has been on the wall. And this is not a surprise as their leadership and Kluge have not dedicated the resources or talent necessary to turn these chains around.

For the most part, the Fast Casual segment cannot create lower cost items as they have been lowering the food quality for quite some time. You can only pump so much salt water into a chicken product and use only so much breading.

There are prospering chains and concepts that are actually increasing business. The restaurant landscape is becoming more diversified and keen operators are getting better at listening to the consumer and reacting quickly.

The chains you list above are all in trouble and the beneficiaries of the adjustments needed to increase profitability is the public. Keep voting with your wallets.

The Bennigan's here in Clearwater had AWFUL service. Our location had been struggling for a long time. I am surprised they stayed open as long as they dd.
Patti

[John Mc]

This announcement is bitter-sweet for me personally. I opened the St. Pete Beach Bennigans as an Eckerd College freshman. It was the first of many waiter/bartender jobs I had that helped me get through college and graduate school. The thing I most remember from the new Bennigans on the beach was how much we had to drill to know the specifics of the menu, and if you didn't know it, you didn't get on the floor. Period.

That devotion to customer service clearly went out the window over the years. The food, and especially the service, has been going downhill for years and I'm afraid Bennigans ended up getting exactly what it deserved. Still, it was a fun place to work, I made some money that helped me get through college (no thanks to the Canadian tourists who tipped zip), and the food, at least initially, wasn't *terrible* like it as at most chains today.

Alas, it's just another thing from my youth that's all washed up and gone.

[Scott]

Bennigan’s at Tyrone wasn't too bad, just ate there a couple of days ago. Lost Longhorn right nextdoor. KFC in the middle of them still rules I guess.
If Chili's goes, I'll have to sedate my daughter. The surprise...Ponderosa still open on 34th in St. Pete!!

[L Ron Hubbub]

Butters will be very, very, sad.

[Kevin]

"Bennigan's demise is probably just another example of what analysts have been saying for a while: The economy is driving lower income guests to fast-food restaurants, to competitors with lower prices or to eat at home more often."

Totally disagree on this point. As hank mentioned above, the chain was in trouble because of poor management. It's time to quit blaming the economy for every little thing that goes wrong. There are plenty of other moderate priced chains that are re-inventing themselves and are successful. Unfortunately the leadership at Bennegan's just didn't cut it. Whether the economy is good or bad, there's only so many dining dollars to go around. Only the strong survive.

-Kevin

[Steph]

I really didn't go to Bennigan's all that much the one that I did go to on 4th street was ok. But Steak n' Ale on westshore. I loved the food and the service was good. Only had a few times that the service was a bit off. But its been there for so long. I even went there for dinner on my prom night which was back in 87. I'm gonna miss Steak n' Ale. bummer