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The demise of chowhouses Bennigan's and Steak & Ale, to some, represented another consumer entity toe-tagged thanks to a flagging US economy. To Atalaya Capital Management and CRG Partners, a pair of distressed mid-market investors, however, the restaurants represented an opportunity.
Atalaya and CRG bought out about 200 company-owned restaurants, and, sources indicated, are already drawing interest in the assets. At a time when tightened purse strings and spiking food costs are putting the squeeze on owners, rare opportunity is increasingly offering bargains to investors-Uno Restaurant Holdings was rumored last week to teeter on the brink of default.
One thing potential chain liquidation buyers should be mind is, as the adage goes, location, location, location. Gene McCaffery, who recently joined Livingstone Partners, a...