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Restaurant Chains

The cyclical nature of the hospitality industry has caused several significant bankruptcies of large restaurant chains. Our combination of insolvency, real estate, and commercial finance expertise has enabled members of the firm to represent a wide range of interests in these cases:

Buffets Holdings
The firm is co-ounsel to the committee in Buffets Holdings, currently pending in Delaware bankruptcy court. The debtors comprise the nation's largest steak-buffet restaurant chain and the second largest restaurant company in the family-dining segment of the restaurant industry, operating under the names Old Country Buffet, Country Buffet, HomeTown Buffet, Ryan's and Firemountain. Just before filing, the debtors had 615 company-owned steak-buffet restaurants, eleven Tahoe Joe's Famous Steakhouse restaurants, and sixteen franchised locations collectively operating in forty-two states, and employed over 36,000 employees.

Cimms
Counsel to the creditors' committee of one of the largest Burger King franchisees in the country, with approximately 100 restaurants in California, Washington, Hawaii, Texas, and Virginia.

Cookers Restaurant Corporation
Counsel to the company and its affiliates in their pending chapter 11 cases in the Ohio bankruptcy court. Cookers operates forty-three restaurants primarily in Ohio, Michigan, and Tennessee, and has annual revenues of approximately $100 million.

Fresh Choice
The firm represented Fresh Choice, Inc. in its chapter 11 case in the Northern District of California. Fresh Choice owned and operated forty-six limited-service, buffet-style restaurants in California, Texas and Washington under the names Fresh Choice, Fresh Choice Express and Zoopa, including one dual-branded Fresh Choice Express and licensed Starbucks retail store and one licensed Starbucks retail store. The firm confirmed a plan of reorganization that provided for the possibility of full payment to all unsecured creditors.

Hamburger Hamlet Restaurants
Counsel to the creditors' committee of this regional chain of full-service restaurants; we had primary responsibility for negotiating the sale of the company and a plan of reorganization.

International Onion
Counsel to the creditors' committee of the Red Onion, a popular Southern California restaurant chain.

Pat & Oscars
We represented Worldwide Restaurant Concepts, a NYSE company, in connection with its acquisition of a closely held chain of casual dining restaurants in Southern California.

Penguin's Frozen Yogurt/Penguin's Place
Counsel to the debtors, affiliates of a multi-national conglomerate, and franchisors of a national chain of approximately 100 yogurt stores in a successful chapter 11 case.

Pizza Time Theaters
Counsel to the creditors' committee in the chapter 11 case of this chain of theme pizza restaurants combined with video-game parlors.

Sizzler International
Counsel to this international restaurant chain, with over 500 company-owned and franchised locations, and collective annual revenues of approximately $1 billion as of the petition date.

Specialty Restaurants Corporation
Counsel to the creditors' committee of the debtor and over sixty affiliates in their chapter 11 cases.

Spectrum Restaurant Group
The firm represents the creditors' committee for Spectrum Restaurant Group, Inc. Spectrum is the operator or former operator of such well-known casual dining chains as Grandy's, Prego, National Sports Grill, Harry's Bar & Grill, MacArthur Park and Guaymas. A plan was successfully confirmed in this case in August 2007.

Sydran Services LLC
Chapter 11 counsel to one of the largest Burger King franchisees in the United States . Within four months of filing the bankruptcy case, the firm was successful in obtaining confirmation of a plan of reorganization that allowed the company to sell approximately 200 of its franchised restaurants.