Bennigan's, headquartered in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, is an

Irish pub In Ireland, a "pub" is an establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. Irish pubs are characterised by a unique culture centred around a casual and friendly atmosphere, hearty food and drink, Irish sports, ...

-themed

casual dining Restaurants fall into several industry classifications, based upon menu style, preparation methods and pricing, as well as the means by which the food is served to the customer. This article mainly describes the situation in the US, while categor ...

restaurant A restaurant is an establishment that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and Delivery (commerce), food delivery services. Restaurants ...

chain. It was founded in 1976 in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, by restaurateur Norman E. Brinker as one of America's original

concepts. It was notable for its "Monte Cristo" sandwich, which included several meats batter-dipped, fried, and coated with powdered sugar. The chain was managed by the restaurant division of Pillsbury until Pillsbury was acquired by

Grand Metropolitan Grand Metropolitan plc was a leisure, manufacturing and property conglomerate headquartered in England. The company was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index until it merged with Guinness plc to form ...

in 1989. Due to laws preventing liquor manufacturers from also operating liquor sellers, the chain was sold to

Metromedia Metromedia, Inc. (also often MetroMedia) was an American media company that owned radio station, radio and television stations in the United States from 1956 to 1986 and controlled Orion Pictures from 1988 to 1997. Metromedia was established in ...

. At its peak, it had over 300 restaurants, but failure to update, grow, and differentiate the brand, degrading quality, and shifting consumer preferences, led to a fall of sales. It filed for

Chapter 7 bankruptcy Chapter 7 of Title 11 U.S. Code is the bankruptcy code that governs the process of liquidation under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. This is in contrast to bankruptcy under Chapter 11 and Chapter 13, which govern the process of ''re ...

in 2008 and closed most of its restaurants. It was then acquired by a private equity company. It was acquired by CEO Paul Mangiamele in 2015. Bennigan's currently operates 21 brick-and-mortar locations and 21 delivery-only "Bennigan's On The Fly" concepts.

History

Bennigan's was established in 1976 in

, as a division of Pillsbury by company vice president and

Steak and Ale Steak and Ale is an American chain of restaurants that was influential in the growth of casual dining. Founded in 1966, it achieved major success in the 1970s and 1980s before declaring Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceeding and closing its remaining ...

founder Norman E. Brinker. The first significant Bennigan's location opened in

Tysons Corner, Virginia Tysons, also known as Tysons Corner, is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, spanning from the corner of SR 123 (Chain Bridge Road) and SR 7 (Leesburg Pike). It is part of the Washington metropolitan are ...

, the following year. In 1983, Brinker led an exodus of senior management from the Steak and Ale and Bennigan's division, purchasing

Chili's Chili's Grill & Bar (stylized as chili's) is an American casual dining restaurant chain founded by Larry Lavine in Texas in 1975 and is currently owned and operated by Brinker International. History Chili's first location, a converted postal ...

, a regional restaurant that focused on gourmet hamburgers. In 1989, Pillsbury was acquired by Grand Metropolitan, a major liquor distributor bound by " Three-tier" laws that prohibited liquor distributors from owning liquor retailers.

then acquired Bennigan's and Steak and Ale.

Decline

At its peak, it had over 300 restaurants, but failure to update, grow, and differentiate the brand, degrading quality, and shifting consumer preferences, led to a fall of sales. In May 2006, Bennigan's closed all of its restaurants in New York and Connecticut. In July 2008, the franchisor and owner of corporate locations filed for

Chapter 7 Chapter Seven refers to a seventh Chapter (books), chapter in a book. Chapter Seven, Chapter 7, or Chapter VII may also refer to: Albums * Chapter Seven (album), ''Chapter Seven'' (album), a 2013 album by Damien Leith. * Chapter VII (album), ''Ch ...

bankruptcy protection and closed all of Bennigan's 150 corporate locations in the U.S. Initially the firm's 138 franchisee-owned locations remained open, but many closed within the next several years. In South Korea, over 30 locations still operated as usual until they were closed in January 2016.

New ownership

In October 2008, Atalaya Capital Management acquired the Bennigan's and

brands and the franchisor, with plans to reopen corporate locations as franchises. In May 2012, management announced plans for a new logo, store prototype, franchise models, menu, and the addition of catering. New restaurants are smaller, with a contemporary design, yet have Bennigan's nostalgia. In February 2015, CEO Paul Mangiamele and his wife, Gwen, acquired the company for an undisclosed price via Legendary Restaurant Brands, LLC. In 2018 and 2019, the company announced plans for over 100 units in development, including international locations in Amsterdam, Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Pakistan. In 2021, the company licensed its "On The Fly" brand to hotels as

virtual restaurant A virtual restaurant, also known as a ghost kitchen, cloud kitchen or dark kitchen, is a food service business that serves customers exclusively by delivery and pick-up based on phone and online ordering. Virtual restaurants are stand-alone bus ...

In popular culture

* Bennigan's is featured in several scenes of the film ''

About Fate ''About Fate'' is a 2022 American romantic comedy film directed by Maryus Vaysberg from a screenplay by Tiffany Paulsen. It is a remake of the 1976 Soviet television film ''The Irony of Fate''. The film stars Emma Roberts, Thomas Mann (actor), ...

'' (2022) * The film '' Waiting'' was inspired by director Rob McKittrick's experiences working at Bennigan's and Steak and Ale.

References

External links

* {{Official website, https://bennigans.com/
1988 Bennigan's television advertisement
via

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

1989 Bennigan's television advertisement
via

1991 Bennigan's television advertisement
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1993 Bennigan's television advertisement
via