Downturn puts another casual chain in bankruptcy

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The downturn in casual-dining traffic has claimed another victim: Logan’s Roadhouse, whose parent company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection today.

LRI Holdings Inc. said it is attempting to stem the bleeding by closing 18 of the roughly 250 Logan’s units that are currently in operation. It also announced that Sam Borgese, the chain veteran who was brought aboard to revive the Western-theme concept, has stepped down as CEO.

The bankruptcy filing had been expected after Bloomberg had cited an unnamed source last week as indicating the paperwork was underway. LRI reported that its debts had swelled to $546.1 million as of June 1. The chain missed a repayment to lenders this spring, and has not been issuing financial statements since December.

In the most recent quarter for which it revealed results, the three-month period ending Oct. 28, LRI reported a net loss of $24.4 million on revenues of $131.3 million, which were down 9.9% from the same period of the prior year. The most recent period contained four fewer days than the quarter to which it was compared, Logan’s noted.

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