Sun Capital Partners the parent company of big name chains such as Chevy’s, Friendly’s and Boston Market and El Torito filed for bankruptcy on October 4th., as reported by the New York Post (October 5, 2011, p 32.) Also, Sun also owns the Friendly ‘s chain which is expected to file later this month. This is just one of many recent filings for the restaurant industry as 5 chains with at least 100 locations have filed for bankruptcy.
Despite these woes, the principal of the company Marc Leder was reported to be throwing wild parties in the Hamptons with a pool full of nude guests performing sex acts.
Is the start of more chains and major national brands to go into bankruptcy? I would not be surprised with this economy. There is talk that American Airlines maybe on the verge of bankruptcy. However, it is not necessarily the end of these companies and may serve to strengthen them. For instance General Motors and Chrysler were able to reduce debt, renegotiate labor contracts, and close unprofitable plants. They had been unprofitable for several years prior to the bankruptcy. General Motors continue to make cars and has reported profits and new increased labor contracts for its workers. So Chapter 11 for large companies is not necessarily a bad thing if they are able to restructure and come out of the process more streamlined