Specialty Restaurant Group
Encyclopedia
Specialty Restaurant Group, LLC. (SRG) is a privately owned
restaurant
company, headquartered in Maryville
, Tennessee
, USA, that has, at one time or another, owned and operated four casual dining
restaurant chains, including The American Café, Silver Spoon Café, the now defunct L&N Seafood Grill, and Tia's Tex-Mex. At one time, SRG controlled and operated more than 40 restaurants--all of which operated under its various nameplates.
Specialty Restaurant Group was created in 2000, when a group of investors bought the four restaurant chains from Ruby Tuesday
. The investors, who were former employees of Ruby Tuesday, included the company's current CEO, James CarMichael, who is credited with having led the buyout from Ruby Tuesday. The American Café, Silver Spoon Café, L&N Seafood Grill, and Tia's Tex-Mex restaurants already existed before their new parent company was created. Similar to Ruby Tuesday
, Applebee's
, O'Charley's
and Outback Steakhouse
, SRG's restaurant concepts operate or operated in the casual dining industry.
Beginning at the time of the divestiture, the company continued to maintain its relationship with Ruby Tuesday
, and operated its corporate headquarters inside the Ruby Tuesday worldwide headquarters.
In 2004, SRG divested its Tia's Tex-Mex restaurant concept and all of the existing Tia's locations to Maplewood Partners, LP.
, relocating its corporate headquarters from the Ruby Tuesday office in which it has previously leased space.
Several of the sites on which the now-closed restaurants operated had been subleased from Ruby Tuesday. In a January 5, 2007 interview with Knoxville News Sentinel, Rick Johnson, senior vice president of Ruby Tuesday, indicated that he was aware of the closing but that Ruby Tuesday had "no immediate plans for space leased by SRG." After asked what his reaction was to the Tallahassee, Florida store closing, the then General Manager of that store Michael Stepp responded he would now have more time to lower his golf handicap in preparation for the Nationwide Tour. Another one of the managers at the Jacksonville Landing, Florida store, Allan Delrosario, expressed his shock as well to the surprising news because he was expecting for SRG to expand its restaurant operation in Las Vegas.
.
"SRG's debts include a $11.2 million bank loan, a $2.5 million debt to the Internal Revenue Service and $700,725 to Ruby Tuesday. In its filing, SRG lists assets of between $10 million and $50 million and a similar range of debts."
In a February 2007 letter to the company's creditors, SRG CEO James CarMichael stated: "This decision was not an easy one to make but based on the advice of our legal counsel and financial advisers, it is the right decision for the company and its employees."
In early 2007, Ruby Tuesday indicated in an SEC filing that it had learned that SRG had defaulted or was late at least once in rent payments for 17 restaurants that had been sub-leased by SRG from Ruby Tuesday. As a result, Ruby Tuesday anticipated taking a charge related to these 17 restaurants, although the company expects the actual charge to be "substantially less" than the $6.1 million dollars remaining in scheduled payments for the various leases.
Limited liability company
A limited liability company is a flexible form of enterprise that blends elements of partnership and corporate structures. It is a legal form of company that provides limited liability to its owners in the vast majority of United States jurisdictions...
restaurant
Restaurant
A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
company, headquartered in Maryville
Maryville, Tennessee
Maryville is the county seat of Blount County, Tennessee, in the Southeastern United States. The city is located south of Knoxville. Maryville's population was 27,258 at the 2010 census. It is included in the Knoxville Metropolitan Area. Maryville has received a number of accolades for its...
, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, USA, that has, at one time or another, owned and operated four casual dining
Casual dining
This is a list of casual dining restaurant chains around the world, arranged in alphabetical order. A casual dining restaurant is a restaurant that serves moderately-priced food in a casual atmosphere...
restaurant chains, including The American Café, Silver Spoon Café, the now defunct L&N Seafood Grill, and Tia's Tex-Mex. At one time, SRG controlled and operated more than 40 restaurants--all of which operated under its various nameplates.
Specialty Restaurant Group was created in 2000, when a group of investors bought the four restaurant chains from Ruby Tuesday
Ruby Tuesday (restaurant)
Ruby Tuesday is an American casual dining restaurant chain named after the Rolling Stones' song of the same name.- History :The first restaurant was founded in 1972 by five University of Tennessee students, and is now headquartered in Maryville, Tennessee. The first location was adjacent to UT's...
. The investors, who were former employees of Ruby Tuesday, included the company's current CEO, James CarMichael, who is credited with having led the buyout from Ruby Tuesday. The American Café, Silver Spoon Café, L&N Seafood Grill, and Tia's Tex-Mex restaurants already existed before their new parent company was created. Similar to Ruby Tuesday
Ruby Tuesday (restaurant)
Ruby Tuesday is an American casual dining restaurant chain named after the Rolling Stones' song of the same name.- History :The first restaurant was founded in 1972 by five University of Tennessee students, and is now headquartered in Maryville, Tennessee. The first location was adjacent to UT's...
, Applebee's
Applebee's
Applebee’s International, Inc., is an American company which develops, franchises, and operates the Applebee's Neighborhood Grill and Bar restaurant chain. As of September 2011, there were 2,010 restaurants operating system-wide in the United States, one U.S. territory and 14 other countries...
, O'Charley's
O'Charley's
O'Charley's is a casual dining restaurants chain in the United States, with more than 240 company-owned locations. O'Charley's is located in 17 Southern and Midwestern states, including four franchised O'Charley's restaurants in Michigan, one franchised O'Charley's in Ohio, three joint venture...
and Outback Steakhouse
Outback Steakhouse
Outback Steakhouse is an American casual dining restaurant chain based in Tampa, Florida with over 1200 locations in 22 countries throughout North and South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. It was founded in February 1988 in Tampa by Bob Basham, Chris T...
, SRG's restaurant concepts operate or operated in the casual dining industry.
Beginning at the time of the divestiture, the company continued to maintain its relationship with Ruby Tuesday
Ruby Tuesday (restaurant)
Ruby Tuesday is an American casual dining restaurant chain named after the Rolling Stones' song of the same name.- History :The first restaurant was founded in 1972 by five University of Tennessee students, and is now headquartered in Maryville, Tennessee. The first location was adjacent to UT's...
, and operated its corporate headquarters inside the Ruby Tuesday worldwide headquarters.
In 2004, SRG divested its Tia's Tex-Mex restaurant concept and all of the existing Tia's locations to Maplewood Partners, LP.
January 2007 Restaurant Closings
On January 2, 2007, SRG suddenly closed 20 of its remaining restaurants. The restaurant closings included eighteen American Café restaurants, one Silver Spoon Café restaurant, and the only remaining L&N Seafood Grill restaurant. In the same week, the company ended its seven year relationship with Ruby TuesdayRuby Tuesday (restaurant)
Ruby Tuesday is an American casual dining restaurant chain named after the Rolling Stones' song of the same name.- History :The first restaurant was founded in 1972 by five University of Tennessee students, and is now headquartered in Maryville, Tennessee. The first location was adjacent to UT's...
, relocating its corporate headquarters from the Ruby Tuesday office in which it has previously leased space.
Several of the sites on which the now-closed restaurants operated had been subleased from Ruby Tuesday. In a January 5, 2007 interview with Knoxville News Sentinel, Rick Johnson, senior vice president of Ruby Tuesday, indicated that he was aware of the closing but that Ruby Tuesday had "no immediate plans for space leased by SRG." After asked what his reaction was to the Tallahassee, Florida store closing, the then General Manager of that store Michael Stepp responded he would now have more time to lower his golf handicap in preparation for the Nationwide Tour. Another one of the managers at the Jacksonville Landing, Florida store, Allan Delrosario, expressed his shock as well to the surprising news because he was expecting for SRG to expand its restaurant operation in Las Vegas.
Chapter 11 Bankruptcy
On February 20, 2007, Specialty Restaurant Group filled for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the northern district of Texas. The company's bankruptcy filings indicate that SRG owes millions of dollars to a variety of creditors across the United States, including former parent-company, Ruby TuesdayRuby Tuesday (restaurant)
Ruby Tuesday is an American casual dining restaurant chain named after the Rolling Stones' song of the same name.- History :The first restaurant was founded in 1972 by five University of Tennessee students, and is now headquartered in Maryville, Tennessee. The first location was adjacent to UT's...
.
"SRG's debts include a $11.2 million bank loan, a $2.5 million debt to the Internal Revenue Service and $700,725 to Ruby Tuesday. In its filing, SRG lists assets of between $10 million and $50 million and a similar range of debts."
In a February 2007 letter to the company's creditors, SRG CEO James CarMichael stated: "This decision was not an easy one to make but based on the advice of our legal counsel and financial advisers, it is the right decision for the company and its employees."
In early 2007, Ruby Tuesday indicated in an SEC filing that it had learned that SRG had defaulted or was late at least once in rent payments for 17 restaurants that had been sub-leased by SRG from Ruby Tuesday. As a result, Ruby Tuesday anticipated taking a charge related to these 17 restaurants, although the company expects the actual charge to be "substantially less" than the $6.1 million dollars remaining in scheduled payments for the various leases.