It’s been a mean economic season so far, and it ain’t over by a long shot.
A couple of weeks ago, coffee behemoth Starbucks announced it would close 600 of its stores nationwide. Local Starbucks slated to close include those in Bloomingdale, Bolingbrook and Elmhurst, according to a press release.
And MRG Metromedia Restaurant Group, the parent company of Bennigan’s Grill & Tavern, announced this week it would file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and close all of its corporate-owned restaurants (eateries owned by franchisees will remain open, but I haven’t yet been able to determine which sites in the Chicago area are owned by the company). This came on the heels of an announcement by the corporation in June that it would not file for bankruptcy and close restaurants.
Many Starbucks employees will fortunately be absorbed by other stores — and how could they not? There are so many stores, some are located within a block of each other.
Workers at Bennigan’s, however, learned the hard way that they no longer had a job. Many reported to their restaurants to find the doors locked and small signs posted telling them that the company went bust.
The next photo I want to see of an newly unemployed worker is a stunned CEO who’s just discovered that he’s been locked out of his office.
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