The parent company of popular steakhouse chain 801 Chophouse has filed for bankruptcy, and they may be forced to shutter various locations.
On April 10, 801 Restaurant Group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, citing the need to restructure debt and keep operating its restaurants, the Des Moines Register reported.
801 Chophouse, a chain of upscale steakhouses, has locations in Des Moines, Iowa; Omaha, Nebraska; Leawood, Kansas; Kansas City, Missouri; St. Louis; Minneapolis; Denver; and Tysons Corner, Virginia.
If the owners can improve their financial situation during the process, 801 Chophouse locations might not have to close their doors.
“The companies that own and operate the restaurants are not in bankruptcy and there are no plans or need for them to file bankruptcy,” 801 Restaurant Group said in a statement to USA Today.
“The individual restaurant companies operating successfully are not impacted by the 801 Restaurant Group’s Chapter 11 filing.”
Beyond its “anchor 801 Chophouses,” 801 Restaurant Group, which is family-owned and was founded in 1993, also has several 801 Fish and 801 Local locations.
According to the parent company, the financial problems have stemmed mostly from the closure of 801 Fish in downtown Denver and 801 On Nicollet, formerly 801 Fish, in Minneapolis.
“The purpose of the Chapter 11 is to restructure these and other obligations for which 801 Restaurant Group has liability,” the statement clarified.
801 Restaurant Group will have to figure out ways to lower its debt, which could potentially mean closing locations.
For now, 801 Restaurant Group’s locations can keep operating as usual as it negotiates with lenders and creditors for a long-term financial plan.
The company noted in public statements and court filings that daily restaurant operations are expected to continue during the restructuring under U.S. bankruptcy law.
As of Thursday, none of the 801 Chophouse locations have closed. However, 801 On Nicollet abruptly shuttered before the bankruptcy filing became public — just five months after it opened, Twin Cities Business Journal reported.
“Except for the two closed restaurants, Chapter 11 is not expected to have any impact on the remaining locations,” the group’s statement said.
Reservations remain available at multiple 801 Chophouse locations nationwide, including its flagship in Des Moines.
The case was filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Kansas and listed liabilities totaling at roughly $18.7 million, according to bankruptcy documents obtained by USA Today.
Court records show the case will remain active through the spring with hearings scheduled for May.
In response to the news, local diners online shared that they were sad to hear the news, but they didn’t seem particularly surprised.
“Beefs at an all time high and people are eating out less. It’s the perfect storm for a steak house to close,” one person wrote on Reddit.
“shitty economy, lost a couple of key peeps, more competiton, and significantly less foot traffic downtown. kinda felt inevitable…sucks but theyve been outta my budget for abt 6 years,” another said.
“It’s a nice restaurant, but better steaks for far less money aren’t hard to come by,” someone chimed in. “IMO, they don’t do anything original or unique; they’re just a fancy steakhouse.”
“I mean there’s plenty of amazing restaurants I don’t think the food scene is struggling any more than any other scene is. But this does kinda suck, always smelled great around there,” a user commented.
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