FATE COOKS BOSTON CHICKEN; $283 MILLION DEBT PROMPTS BANKRUPTCY FILING, STORE CLOSURES.Byline: Gregory J. Wilcox Daily News Staff Writer Boston Chicken Inc., once a restaurant industry high flier, has hit some severe turbulence that forced it to file Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Monday and close 178 stores. The Golden, Colo., company took the action because it is strapped for cash and is faced with about $283 million in debt that is due Oct. 17. Chapter 11 permits a company to continue operating while it works out a payment plan with creditors. There are about 100 Boston Market Boston Market (known before 1995 as Boston Chicken), headquartered in Golden, Colorado, is a chain of American fast-food restaurants. Founded in December 1985 in Newton, Massachusetts, the chain grew rapidly in the early and mid-1990s, filed bankruptcy in the late 1990s, and stores from Fresno to San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. , including 11 in the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. area, franchised to Boston West L.L.C. They are unaffected by the closing. ``The bankruptcy of Boston Chicken is not a bankruptcy of Boston West. At the present time we will not be closing any (stores) in Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, ,'' said Andrew Puzder Andrew Puzder received his juris doctorate in 1978 from Washington University School of Law in St. Louis and is a member of the California, Nevada and Missouri Bar Associations., and has served as CEO of CKE Restaurants since September 2001. , executive vice president of Carl Karcher Carl Nicholas Karcher (born January 16, 1917), founded the Carl's Jr. hamburger chain, now owned by parent company CKE Restaurants, Inc.. Born on a farm near Upper Sandusky, Ohio, Karcher was the son of Ohio natives Leo and Anna Maria (Kuntz) Karcher. Enterprises of Anaheim, a stakeholder stakeholder n. a person having in his/her possession (holding) money or property in which he/she has no interest, right or title, awaiting the outcome of a dispute between two or more claimants to the money or property. in Boston West, a limited liability company. ``This doesn't mean that some restaurants might not be closed in the future. You always evaluate which ones to keep open or closed,'' he said. The bankruptcy filing could have a financial impact on Boston West because it has borrowed money from time to time from Boston Chicken. Those loans will no longer be forthcoming. ``We had hoped to restructure out of court and gave it our best effort. We have considerably improved restaurant operations, significantly reduced overhead and have made progress with our creditors toward a financial restructuring,'' Boston Chicken Chairman J. Michael Jenkins said in a statement. Boston Chicken and its Boston Market restaurants, which feature home-style cooking, stormed Wall Street in 1993 with an initial public offering priced at $20. The company's stock soon rocketed to $50 a share and it split 2-for-1 in 1994. It has since tanked, closing Monday at 50 cents, down 25 cents. ``It's been downhill for some time now,'' said Janet Lowder, an analyst at Restaurant Management Services in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. . She said the company's ``replacement dinner'' meals - that is, full meals prepared as quickly as at a fast-food restaurant - are getting tough competition from similar restaurant chains The following is a list of restaurant chains. See also: Fast-food restaurant, Casual dining, List of reference tables. International
``The supermarkets have just done a tremendous job. I think they are making their mark in this arena and we didn't think that they could,'' Lowder said. CAPTION(S): Photo, Chart PHOTO (Color) The bankruptcy of Boston Chicken Inc. isn't expected to affect the area's Boston Market restaurants, like this one in Woodland Hills. Dean Musgrove/Daily News CHART: Chicken Cuts Boston Chicken Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after overexpansion decimated its earnings. A look at the company's net income since the beginning of 1997: Source: AP Research |
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