Bennigan's closes amid bankruptcy filing

H. Rick Bamman - hbamman@kcchronicle.com The Bennigan's on Randall Road in Batavia sits empty after restaurants across the country closed abruptly early Tuesday morning. S&A Restaurant Corp., the Texas based company that owns the chain filed for bankruptcy protection.

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Bennigan’s restaurants in Kane County had closed doors Tuesday, after the Irish-themed restaurant filed for bankruptcy.

The doors of both the St. Charles and Batavia restaurants were shut Tuesday, and phone calls went unanswered.

Employees gathered at the St. Charles location on East Main Street, carrying out property. St. Charles police received reports of looting, but said a manager told a responding officer of the closing and that employees were retrieving belongings.

Employees referred all inquiries to the corporate office in Texas.

A Bennigan’s spokeswoman declined comment Tuesday afternoon, but released a statement, indicating that Bennigan’s parent company, Metromedia Restaurant Group, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, which also affects the restaurant chain, Steak & Ale, which isn’t located in the Chicago area.

“However, not all stores using these trade names have filed bankruptcy. For example, stores operated by franchisees are not named as debtors in these filings. The filing does not include Ponderosa and Bonanza which operate under Metromedia Steakhouses Company, L.P.,” the statement read.

“These are filed as liquidation cases. Future decisions regarding the affairs of the debtor companies will be determined and administered by the trustee,” the statement added.