Così, based in Boston, Massachusetts, is an American fast-casual

restaurant chain A chain store or retail chain is a retail outlet in which several locations share a brand, central management and standardized business practices. They have come to dominate many retail markets, dining markets, and service categories in many pa ...

that is known for its homemade

flatbread A flatbread is bread made usually with flour; water, milk, yogurt, or other liquid; and salt, and then thoroughly rolled into flattened dough. Many flatbreads are Unleavened bread, unleavened, although some are leavened, such as pita bread. A Se ...

. The name comes from the opera ''

Così fan tutte (''Women are like that, or The School for Lovers''), Köchel catalogue, K. 588, is an opera buffa in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It was first performed on 26 January 1790 at the Burgtheater in Vienna, Austria. The libretto was written ...

'', which was a favorite of the original owner. As of November 2020, the company operated 20 locations in New York, Washington D.C., Virginia, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, down from 66 at the beginning of the year. The chain filed for

Chapter 11 bankruptcy Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, w ...

in February 2020.

History

The original Così restaurant was opened in 1989 by Drew Harre in Paris, France. In 1996, Shep and Jay Wainwright opened the first Così in the United States, in New York. In October 1999, Così merged with Xando (formerly ZuZu). The company became a public company via an

initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investm ...

in 2002. A year later, Kevin Armstrong was named chief executive officer of the company. In June 2010, Così sold its District of Columbia stores to Capitol C Restaurants as franchises. Capitol C is the owner of

Qdoba Mexican Grill Qdoba ( ) is a chain of fast casual restaurants in the United States and Canada serving Mexican-style cuisine. After 15 years as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Jack in the Box, the company was sold to a consortium of funds led by Apollo Global ...

. In March 2014, Così's largest and most successful franchisee, RJ Dourney was voted by Così's board of directors to the position of CEO and Director and Così announced it was moving its corporate headquarters from

Deerfield, Illinois Deerfield is a village in Lake County, Illinois, Lake and Cook County, Illinois, Cook counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. A northern Chicago metropolitan area, suburb of Chicago, Deerfield is located on the North Shore (Chicago), North Shore, ...

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. However, in August 2016, CEO RJ Dourney was fired. That same year, the company filed for

Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, w ...

reorganization and closed stores. As a result of the bankruptcy filing, the company's shares were de-listed from the

NASDAQ The Nasdaq Stock Market (; National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the U.S. by volume, and ranked second on the list ...

. Cosi also sought buyers for "substantially all of its assets." In May 2017, the company emerged from bankruptcy under the ownership of MILFAM II L.P., AB Value Partners, LP, AB Value Management LLC and AB Opportunity Fund LLC. However, on February 25, 2020, Così once again filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after closing several locations. However, the company then withdrew its filing and instead sought pandemic aid from the government. Then, after surviving the pandemic, on July 1, 2022, Cosi reopened its bankruptcy.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cosi (Restaurant) 1996 establishments in New York City Restaurant chains in the United States Bakery cafés Bakeries of the United States Fast-food franchises Fast casual restaurants Companies formerly listed on the Nasdaq Restaurants established in 1996 Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2016 Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2020 Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2022 American companies established in 1996 Food and drink companies based in Boston

History

References

Further reading

External links