Restaurants Unlimited, Inc. (RUI) was an American food and beverage firm. Rich Komen founded the company in 1969, and it was headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. [1]
Brands included Skates on the Bay, Portland City Grill, Manzana Grill, Palisade, Cutters Crabhouse, Stanford's, Henry's Tavern, Kincaid's, Palomino Restaurant & Bar and Portland Seafood Company. [2]
Restaurants Unlimited filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on July 7, 2019. At the time of filing, there were 35 locations owned by the firm across six states. [3]
In 2007, Sun Capital Partners acquired Restaurants Unlimited for an unspecified amount. [1]
In July 2015, Jim Eschweiler was named president and CEO. [4]
In 2018, Unlimited began adding a 1% “Living Wage Fee” to their customer's bill. [5] [ better source needed ]
On July 7, 2019 the firm filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. [6]
In September 2019, Landry's, Inc. purchased the firm. [7]
Quiz Holdings, LLC, doing business as Quiznos, is an American franchised fast-food restaurant based in Denver that specializes in offering toasted submarine sandwiches. It was founded in 1981 by Jimmy Lambatos and sold to Rick and Richard Schaden ten years later. It then grew to nearly 5,000 restaurants; by 2013, Quiznos was the second-largest submarine sandwich shop chain in North America, behind Subway. It filed for bankruptcy in 2014; by 2016, it had dropped to ninth place, and the number of Quiznos locations in the United States fell from a 2007 high of 4,700 to just 400 a decade later.
Ruby Tuesday Inc. is an American multinational foodservice retailer that owns, operates, and franchises Ruby Tuesday restaurants. The concept was started in 1972 by Samuel E. (Sandy) Beall III.
Harry and David, LLC is an American-based premium food and gift producer and retailer. The company sells its products through direct mail, online, corporate gifting, and in their flagship location in Medford, Oregon, and operates the brands Harry & David, Wolferman's, and Vital Choice. Harry & David was founded in 1910 by Samuel Rosenberg as Bear Creek Orchards in Medford, Oregon, as a premium fruit company. As of 2014, it is owned by 1-800-Flowers.com.
Taco Management LLC, doing business as Taco Bueno, is a U.S.-based, quick service restaurant chain specializing in Tex-Mex-style cuisine. The company is headquartered in Farmers Branch, Texas, in the Dallas–Fort Worth metropolitan area. Its first location opened in Abilene, Texas in 1967. The food chain has locations in Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas.
Friendly's is a restaurant chain on the East Coast of the United States. The first location, selling ice cream cones, was in Springfield, Massachusetts, opened in 1935. It was founded by brothers S. Prestley Blake and Curtis Blake. It has 10,000 employees. George Michel is the CEO. It offers diner-style cuisine and highlights its 22 ice cream flavors. Many locations offer an ice-cream only take-out window alongside of the table service option. Friendly's restaurants are found in Massachusetts, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Its ice cream is also sold in some East Coast supermarkets.
Back Yard Burgers, Inc., is an American regional franchise chain of quick serve restaurants. As of March 2022, there are 38 restaurants in the Southern and Midwestern United States. Back Yard Burgers is a subsidiary of private equity firm Axum Capital Partners, and is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee.
Landry's, Inc., is an American, privately owned, multi-brand dining, hospitality, entertainment, and gaming corporation headquartered in Houston, Texas. Landry's, Inc. owns and operates more than 600 restaurants, hotels, casinos, and entertainment destinations in 35 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. The company also owns and operates numerous international locations. The company is owned by President & CEO Tilman Fertitta.
Skippers Seafood & Chowder House is a group of independently owned and operated restaurant locations licensed by Harbor Wholesale. There are currently licensed Skippers restaurants operating in Washington. Skippers produces clam chowder, tartar sauce, cocktail sauce, and coleslaw dressing, in both retail and industrial sizes. Retail items are sold in grocery stores, convenience stores, and over the internet. There are over 50 Skippers fleet locations operating under limited license agreements with Harbor Wholesale.
Plaid Pantry is a chain of privately owned convenience stores based in Beaverton, Oregon, United States. Of 106 locations, one is in the Seattle, Washington area, eight are near Salem, and the remainder are in the Portland metropolitan area.
Movie Gallery, Inc. was the second largest movie and game rental company in the United States and Canada, behind Blockbuster Video. The company rented and sold Blu-ray Discs, DVDs, VHS tapes, and video games. Founded in Dothan, Alabama, the company was headquartered in Dothan, and later in Wilsonville, Oregon.
Sizzler USA Restaurants, Inc., doing business as Sizzler, is a United States-based restaurant chain with headquarters in Mission Viejo, California, with locations mainly in California, plus some in the nearby states of Washington, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Idaho, Utah, Oregon and Puerto Rico. It is known for steak, seafood, and salad bar items.
Bennigan's is an Irish pub-themed American casual dining restaurant chain founded in 1976 in Atlanta by restaurateur Norman E. Brinker as one of America's original casual dining concepts. The chain operated under the restaurant division of Pillsbury for most of its history, until Pillsbury was bought out by the British liquor conglomerate Grand Metropolitan. Due to laws preventing liquor manufacturers from also operating liquor sellers, the chain was sold to Texas-based Metromedia restaurants, until the company filed for bankruptcy in 2008. The chain then went through a series of restructuring and ownership changes until it was purchased by Legendary Restaurant Brands, LLC in 2015. The company is now operating out of Dallas, Texas.
Romano's Macaroni Grill is a casual dining restaurant chain specializing in Italian-American cuisine. As of January 2024, the company operates 32 locations in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Virginia.
Golden Gate Capital is an American private equity firm based in San Francisco. The firm makes investments in a number of select industries, including technology, financial services, retail and industrial, through leveraged buyout transactions, as well as significant minority purchases and growth capital investments. As of April 2018, it had over $15 billion in assets under management.
Così, based in Boston, Massachusetts, is an American fast-casual restaurant chain that is known for its homemade flatbread. The name comes from the opera Così fan tutte, which was a favorite of the original owner. As of November 2020, the company operated 20 locations in New York, Washington D.C., Virginia, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, down from 66 at the beginning of the year. The chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February 2020.
Steak and Ale was an American chain of casual dining restaurants that went bankrupt in 2008. However the brand, recipes and other intellectual property associated with the former chain are currently owned by Legendary Restaurant Brands, LLC, the parent company for Bennigan's.
Avenue Stores LLC was a specialty retailer in the United States offering plus-size clothing to women who wear larger-size clothing. The company serves a target audience of women aged between 25 and 55 years of age, wearing apparel of size 14 or larger, and also sells shoes and accessories. The group operated 222 stores in 33 states in 2019, all under the name The Avenue.
Kona Grill, Inc. is an upscale casual restaurant company based in Denver, Colorado serving American cuisine, sushi, and cocktails. The company owns and operates around 40 restaurants in 23 U.S. states, as well as three international locations operating under franchise agreements. In 2019, STK Parent company, One Hospitality Group purchased Kona Grill for $25 million.
Mattress Firm Inc. is an American mattress store chain founded on July 4, 1986. The headquarters of the company is located in Houston, Texas.
Henry's Tavern is a small chain of bars and restaurants. It currently exists in two locations, one in Portland International Airport, and another in Denver, Colorado.