#31: Bennigan’s
Bennigan’s Grill & Tavern was an Irish pub chain restaurant founded by Norman E. Brinker. It was one of the first casual dining concepts to originate in America. Bennigan’s operated under Pillsbury’s restaurant division for most of its heyday. There were over 150 locations at its peak, but now, as of 2020, just eleven locations remain in the US.
Bennigan’s partial shutdown was due to a change of hands when it came to its parent company, Pillsbury. Grand Metropolitan, a British liquor conglomerate, bought Pillsbury. Liquor laws prevented manufacturers of alcohol from running establishments that sell alcohol, so Bennigan’s was sold to Metromedia, which went bankrupt in 2008.