Doomed by lack of culinary creativity or absence of authenticity?
The parent company of Bennigan's filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy yesterday. Let's have a moment of silence for the death of the five-pound platter of ultimate nachos and the menu that offered at least a dozen ways to cook chicken breasts.
The Associated Press fills in the details, and I risk their ire by excerpting from them...
NEW YORK (AP) — Restaurant chains Bennigan's and Steak & Ale have filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection and stores owned by its parent company will shut their doors.
The companies owned by privately held Metromedia Restaurant Group of Plano, Texas, filed for bankruptcy protection on Tuesday in the Eastern District of Texas, less than two months after Metromedia said it was not preparing to do so. It wasn't clear whether franchisee-owned restaurants would be closing as well.
In a Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing, a company seeks to liquidate its assets and shut down.
Employees at a Bennigan's in Plano, Texas, were greeted by a sign Tuesday on the front door reading "WE ARE CLOSED. THANK YOU." Next door, a Steak & Ale sat empty in a deserted parking lot but there was no sign posted.
Liquidation of assets. That means management knows this baby is a goner. At least when it comes to the company-owned units. They don't even see an opportunity to unload the brand and the restaurants to another operator. That's got to make the owners of the 120 or so franchisee-owned units just a little nervous. Actually, it should make some of their competitors nervous too.
The so-called casual dining food service category is experiencing tough times right now. A few weeks ago, USA TODAY carried this story about how sales are off at chains like Outback Steakhouse, Ruby Tuesday's and P. F. Chang's. All play in the $10-20 per person category. Industry folks cited in the article point to four key factors driving the slowing sales: Rising gas prices, better choices in fast-food outlets, higher credit card costs, and the weak real estate market. Roll those up and the average family is short on cash and on credit, perceives themselves to be less wealthy, and is trading down.
Wall Street can analyze the numbers all they want. But I have another angle I think matters, at least to a small degree: authenticity. Places like Bennigan's are simulated taverns. They are phonies, trying to act like they are the real deal. A look at the Bennigan's website, still up at the moment, tells the reader that... "Bennigan’s is an Irish American Grill & Tavern famous for great food, fun atmosphere and a wide selection of cocktails including beer, wine and specialty drinks like the Bennigan’s Blarney Blast. Bennigan’s menu is loaded with salads, burgers, steak and chicken entrees, sandwiches and desserts."
Oh, please. The most accurate word in that ad copy is "Blarney." And that's why I generally avoid those kind of places. Applebee's is "eatin' good in the neighborhood." OK, I guess, if your neighborhood is a strip mall or one of those chain-store boulevards where every franchise seems to be represented. Chic Chi's is to Mexican food what Huffy is to the Tour de France. Red Lobster can make any kind of seafood taste just like chicken.
For a real tavern experience, one must visit a real tavern. And, having practically invented them here in Wisconsin, we have no shortage of them. They even have their own association, the Tavern League of Wisconsin. (Be prepared to be bombarded with an only slightly defensive yet upbeat radio commercial if you click on the link.) The TLW represents all kinds of places, but their bread and butter membership is made up of the mom and pop, family owned and operated gems that dot the landscape throughout the state. 
Often times, these little taverns are among the only businesses in town. Such is the case in nearby Rockdale, home of Heather's Rockdale Bar and Grill.
Heather's is the kind of place that doesn't have to prove anything to anybody. It is just as the sign says: a tavern that has a grill behind the bar. That's exactly how we like them here in Wisconsin. 
Menu? It's hanging over the grill, but you already know what's on it and that your best bet is the bacon cheeseburger. (Heather's does a mean but messy Reuben if you're not in the burgering mood.) 
It's actually owned and operated by a woman named Heather (left). There is some kind of beer special every night, and you bet your ass there's a fish fry on Friday. In the winter, snowmobiles are lined up along the side of the road. In the summer, the Harleys and other bikes fill the parking lot. (Be sure to grab a block of wood from the bucket so your kickstand doesn't sink into the asphalt.) The building was once a house, as is so often the case. The deck out back looks over the horseshoe pits, and unless you play a really competitive game, don't bother trying to join in. Peanuts are free, there's karaoke on Monday nights and bands on the weekends. Never a cover. There aren't silly branded drinks, goofy names for otherwise straightforward menu items, or fake antique decor. If something is hanging on the wall and it looks old, that's because it is, and it is probably covering a hole in the paneling.
I guess it's telling to look at the facades of a Bennigan's in comparison to Heather's.
Which one would you say is the real deal?
If you're looking for Heather's, it's on Highway B in Rockdale (even though Google maps thinks it's in Cambridge) just east of the bridge over the Koshkenong Creek where Rockdale Road comes in. If you were looking for a place to ride your motorcycle some sunny weekend day from, for example, the Chicago suburbs, this would make a nice destination. Call me; I'll meet you there. I might even buy.
