The Cellar - Is Ground Round Dead?

On Saturday, after going to see Lord of the Rings (excellent), we decided to go to the Ground Round on Route 202. When we got there, there was a handwritten note on the door stating that the restaurant closed on 2/13.

This did not appear to be an orderly, planned closing. I just went to their national website and checked the news to see if this was a national event.

I am curious as to what happened. I didn't see any police tape, so it wasn't a robbery. There did not appear to be a fire. Was it a national event? I didn't see any news stories about it's parent company closing, although there was one about a single restaurant closing.

American Hospitality Concepts, the parent, company, does not appear to be listed, so this may explain why I do not see any SEC filings.

I called the one in West Chester and got no answer. Then I found this new story from Rochester.

Quote:

More people in our area are out of jobs.

This comes after The Ground Round announced Friday, it's closing its doors around the country. About 100 people from two local restaurants will feel the impact, the one on Buffalo Rd. in Gates and the restaurant inside the Marketplace Mall in Henrietta. Employees say the news comes as a shock, especially with Valentine's Day here. Dinner reservations had to be cancelled, and on Friday customers were told to leave, many in the middle of their meals. No word on why the company decided to end its business and no word what kind of severance packages will be offered to employees.

A 170 million dollar company with 5500 employees shuts down in the middle of the day and kicks out customers. I've never heard of a restaurant closing down in the middle of dinner. Since they do not appear to be listed, I guess they did not have to file Chapter 7.