Houlihan's
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Houlihan's is an American casual restaurant and bar
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with locations operating throughout the country, 60% of which are franchised. It is headquartered in Leawood, Kansas. The first Houlihan's opened on April 1, 1972, in Kansas City's
Country Club Plaza The Country Club Plaza (often called The Plaza) is a privately owned regional shopping center in the Country Club District of Kansas City, Missouri, Kansas City, Missouri. Opened in 1923, it is considered to be the first planned large outdoor su ...
, and there are now 35 restaurants in 15 states. It was originally named Houlihan's Old Place because it was first located in the space of Houlihans Clothing Store. Houlihan's is privately owned by Fertitta Entertainment, who bought HRI, a company that developed and owned several restaurant concepts including Bristol Seafood Grill, Devon Seafood Grill, and J. Gilbert's Wood-Fired Steaks.


History

Paul Robinson met Joe Gilbert in 1961. At that time Robinson was manager of the Golden Ox restaurant in Kansas City's West Bottoms (and creator of Inn at the Landing, which opened in 1960 at the Landing shopping center at 63rd and Troost) and Gilbert was the creator of the Four Winds restaurant at the Kansas City downtown airport. The two men formed the Gilbert-Robinson restaurant firm, and they opened a number of successful restaurants including Plaza III Steakhouse at the
Country Club Plaza The Country Club Plaza (often called The Plaza) is a privately owned regional shopping center in the Country Club District of Kansas City, Missouri, Kansas City, Missouri. Opened in 1923, it is considered to be the first planned large outdoor su ...
in 1963 and Gilbert & Robinson's (later renamed Sam Wilson's) on 103rd Street in Overland Park. Several years later, Gilbert-Robinson looked into expanding Plaza III into the space being vacated next door by men's clothing store Tom Houlihan's. Instead of expanding Plaza III, the restaurant partners decided to create a new casual restaurant. During construction, they couldn't come up with a name for the new restaurant, and people kept referring to it as Tom Houlihan's place. As a result, they decided to call the new restaurant Houlihan's Old Place. Gilbert-Robinson gained Tom Houlihan's permission to use the name, and they told him that a table would be reserved for no one else but him in the middle of the dining room every day for the rest of his life. The table included a brass plaque with Tom's name on it; however, Tom Houlihan never set foot in the restaurant. Houlihan's Old Place opened on April 1, 1972. The chain briefly held the naming rights to
Tampa Stadium Tampa Stadium (nicknamed The Big Sombrero and briefly known as Houlihan's Stadium) was a large open-air stadium (maximum capacity about 74,000) located in Tampa, Florida, which opened in 1967 and was significantly expanded in 1974–75. The fac ...
, home of the NFL's
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in the late 1990s before the team moved out of the stadium. As a result of the early success of the original Houlihan's Old Place, Gilbert-Robinson quickly embarked on a plan of nationwide expansion. A second location, in the
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of
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, was opened in July 1973. The third location was opened in
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in December 1974, and the fourth location was opened in Des Peres, Missouri, in March 1975. In November 2002, Houlihan's announced that its original location at Kansas City's Country Club Plaza would close by the end of the year. The closing was announced because the landlord, Highwoods Realty LP, chose not to renew the lease. Highwoods Realty is a unit of Highwoods Properties Inc. of
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, which owns most of the retail real estate in the heart of the Country Club Plaza. A spokesperson for Highwoods released a statement indicating that "the time was right to bring a new concept into our restaurant mix here on the Plaza." Houlihan's announced that it would relocate its Plaza location to a vacant space on 53rd Street in nearby
Fairway, Kansas Fairway is a city in Johnson County, Kansas, Johnson County, Kansas, United States. It is included in the Kansas City metropolitan area census designation and the Shawnee Mission, Kansas, Shawnee Mission postal services designation. As of the 2 ...
, in January 2003. At the time of the move, Houlihan's Restaurants, Inc. owned 48 restaurants in 15 states, including 34 of its Houlihan's branded restaurants. Since January 2006, private equity firm Goldner Hawn Johnson Morrison has maintained a majority ownership stake in Houlihan's Restaurants, Inc. In May 2006, Houlihan's debuted its new "Houlihan's of the 21st Century" prototype design. The new restaurant designs featured new architecture, interior design, uniforms, music, menu format, patio-style dining, and a redesign to its spacious bar area. Houlihan's also announced a new strategic growth plan to open more corporate locations and limit franchise deals to highly experienced, "cream of the crop" market developers. In 2007, 92 Houlihan's restaurants operated throughout the United States, of which 31 were corporate-owned and 61 were franchised. By 2012, Houlihan's Restaurants, Inc. still owned 31 Houlihan's restaurants; however, franchised locations fell to 48 Houlihan's restaurants. On November 14, 2019, the restaurant chain's holding company, HRI Holding Corp., and 38 affiliated companies filed bankruptcy in the
United States District Court for the District of Delaware The United States District Court for the District of Delaware (in case citations, D. Del.) is the United States district court, Federal district court having jurisdiction over the entire state of Delaware. The Court sits in Wilmington, Delaware, ...
. According to the company's chief restructuring officer, Matthew Manning, the company is struggling due to a shifting labor market, unfavorable leases, and costly third-party delivery services (such as Postmates). The company intends to use the bankruptcy process to conduct an orderly sale of the restaurants. Landry’s, a Houston-based restaurant group that operates Joe’s Crab Shack,
Rainforest Cafe Rainforest Cafe is a jungle-Theme restaurant, themed restaurant chain owned by Landry's, Landry's, Inc. of Houston. The first location opened in the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, on February 3, 1994. By 1997, the chain consisted of ...
, and Morton’s steakhouses, has offered to pay $40 million to keep the company from
bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...
.


References

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External links


Company websiteBristol Company websiteDevon Company websiteJ. Gilbert's Company website
Companies based in Kansas Restaurant franchises Restaurants established in 1972 Restaurants in Missouri Regional restaurant chains in the United States American companies established in 1972 1972 establishments in Kansas Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2019