Bennigan’s and Steak & Ale
are now history

By Tom Waring
Times Staff Writer

Restaurants, like other businesses, generally rely on a strong economy to boost sales. When economic times are uncertain, consumers cut back on their discretionary spending.
High gasoline prices, a weak housing market and inflation are sources of economic concern today. Restaurants are also paying higher prices to purchase the food they sell.
Some restaurants are able to overcome those obstacles, others are not.
Since sit-down restaurants generally are more expensive than fast-food and takeout places, they face a more difficult task. And with no shortage of competition, it’s a survival game.
Last week, restaurant chains Bennigan’s and Steak & Ale went under, as the Texas-based Metromedia Restaurant Group filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection.
About 150 company-owned stores closed immediately upon the news on July 29. An estimated 160 franchises will remain open.
There were signs in the windows at the Bennigan’s at Bustleton and Cottman avenues that read, "Due to certain circumstances out of our control, Bennigan’s is officially closed as of 7/29/08 till further notice."
Maryland-based Kimco Realty Corp., which owns the ground where Bennigan’s sits, did not respond for comment on how it will market the vacant building.
Another former Bennigan’s is in Boulevard Plaza, though it has sat vacant for several years. It couldn’t compete with its two next-door neighbors, Michael’s and Chickie’s & Pete’s. Metro Commercial is marketing the 7,200-square-foot structure as a restaurant.
The area’s closest Steak & Ale, located on Route 1 in Trevose, just north of the city limit, closed on June 30.
Signs read, "Dear valued patrons, Due to unfortunate circumstances, this location is now closed. Please try our Cherry Hill location. Thank you for your business." The New Jersey location closed with last week’s announcement.
So, how are other chain restaurants doing in the Northeast?
The Italian Bistro, at 2500 Welsh Road (at Roosevelt Boulevard), is part of a chain of six restaurants. There’s a location in Center City and others that operate under different names in Bensalem and the South Jersey towns of Blackwood, Mullica Hill and Cherry Hill.
The Northeast location, according to manager Art Bilali, is faring well both in its dining room and banquet hall. The month of August is booked for parties for various occasions.
"We’re doing pretty good," Bilali said. "We’re very busy."
Rich Jeffers is a spokesman for Orlando, Fla.-based Darden Restaurants. The company owns and operates more than 1,700 restaurants that have $6.7 billion in annual sales and about 180,000 employees.
Darden owns, among other restaurants, Red Lobster, Olive Garden and Longhorn Steakhouse. There are Red Lobster and Oliver Garden locations about a block from each other on Roosevelt Boulevard. A Longhorn restaurant is also on the Boulevard, in the Whitman Square shopping center.
Jeffers believes his company excels because there are no franchises. All restaurants are owner-operated. He added that a big company such as Darden can save money by buying food in bulk.
Despite the overall decline in consumer spending, the Darden restaurants remain strong, according to Jeffers.
"We’re proud of the way we’ve been able to manage through it," he said. "We have great brands and built up a tremendous amount of loyalty."
Al Taubenberger is president of the Greater Northeast Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, whose membership includes chain restaurants. Other chains are not members.
In general, according to Taubenberger, the successful restaurants are members of the business group and active in the community.
The business leader cites Applebee’s as an example. The restaurant, which has a location at 9142 Roosevelt Blvd., is community oriented, taking part in fund-raisers and decorating its walls with local memorabilia.
In Taubenberger’s opinion, restaurants — both chains and individually owned — thrive because of good food and ownership’s business sense and pulse of the market.
Those are the qualities, he said, that allow Moonstruck and the Blue Ox Brauhaus to draw customers on the same block on Oxford Avenue in Fox Chase. And those qualities enable Chickie’s & Pete’s to pack them in at Boulevard Plaza, Frankford and Robbins and at 15th and Packer in South Philadelphia.
Taubenberger is glad to live in a city with a strong roster of restaurants and thinks that it is healthy for the local economic climate.
"I think chain restaurants in the Philadelphia area, particularly the Northeast, face stiff competition from the strength of independently owned restaurants," he said. "Throw in Center City, which is twenty minutes or a half-hour from the Northeast, and you have a ton more." ••
Reporter Tom Waring can be reached at 215-354-3034 or twaring@phillynews.com