Gulf lease sale draws interest, opinions
June 26, 2012
SCIA names new officers
June 26, 2012
Last Wednesday’s closing of Ryan’s Grill and Buffet in Houma resulted from a Chapter 11 package settlement reached in January between Buffets Inc. and its creditors.
The only local public notice was a sign posted on the building that announced the restaurant at 1520 Martin Luther King Blvd. was no longer in business. Of the nine Louisiana Ryan’s locations, the only other to close was the eatery in Deridder, although the chain did close other locations throughout the south, including some located in Virginia, Tennessee and Georgia.
Egan, Minn.-based Buffets Inc. is the parent company of Ryan’s, Country Buffet, Old Country Buffet, Hometown Buffet, Fire Mountain, Granny’s Buffet and Tahoe Joe’s restaurants.
According to Nation’s Restaurant News, officials announced at the first of the year that Buffets Inc. would close 81 under-performing eateries represented among each of its seven brand names in the combined chain of 628 locations in 39 states.
Although most of the closings were made within a week of the bankruptcy filing, a balance was not made until the halfway point of 2012.
Messages left with the corporate public relations office were not returned. Online reports listed closings last Wednesday of Ryan’s locations in Virginia, Tennessee and Georgia.
As part of the Chapter 11 restructuring, Buffets Inc. revealed in January that its lenders agreed to convert approximately $245 million in senior secured debt to an equity stake. The move basically eliminated all of the corporation’s outstanding debt and provided resources for future investment.
The company also negotiated a $50 million debtor-in-possession financing with its creditors to insure liquidity needed to complete a reorganization process.
In turn, existing lenders were to receive 100 percent of Buffets Inc. common stock upon emergence from bankruptcy. This was expected to take place at the end of June, but could not be confirmed.
Ryan’s Restaurant Group was founded by Alvin A. McCall in 1977. Buffets Inc. was founded in 1983. Buffets Inc. acquired Ryan’s in 2006.
Business signs were rapidly replaced with a note taped to the door stating that Ryan’s Buffet in Houma is no longer in business. The restaurant closure was in part the result of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization plan by Buffet’s Inc.
