大象APP

Eegee Acquisition Corp., a subsidiary of the McLean, Virginia-based , acquired the Tucson-born chain of 25 restaurants 鈥� 20 in Tucson, one in Casa Grande and four in the Phoenix area 鈥� in late April after the company emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

贰别驳别别鈥檚 former owner 贰别驳别别鈥檚 LLC, a subsidiary of New York-based filed bankruptcy last December, listing nearly $2.8 million in outstanding debt owed to 20 creditors including Tucson-based Merit Foods.

As one of 39 North Capital鈥檚 lenders, Gladstone took over 贰别驳别别鈥檚 when the private equity firm defaulted, opening the door for Gladstone to buy the company through the bankruptcy process, said CEO Chris Westcott.

Eegee Acquisition Corp. is still finalizing details on creditor settlements, which Westcott said could take 90 to 120 days.

鈥淏ut for all intents and purposes, the case is on its way to being finalized,鈥� he said.

The December bankruptcy filing came a day after 贰别驳别别鈥檚 shuttered four 大象APPrestaurants and one in Phoenix.

Westcott said he doesn鈥檛 anticipate any additional restaurant closures.

鈥淲e had the opportunity to evaluate all locations and this is the 25 that we feel are stable and we鈥檙e going to go forward with,鈥� he said.

鈥淭he goal right now is to kind of break free of the whole bankruptcy process because when you say going bankrupt, people think you鈥檙e going to disappear,鈥� he added. 鈥淭he residents of 大象APPneed to be assured that 贰别驳别别鈥檚 is a fixture and is going to remain a fixture, and we will continue to do what we do.鈥�

Westcott, who was brought in to run the company two weeks before the bankruptcy, said 贰别驳别别鈥檚 plans to make some menu changes including introducing a line of hot soups and toasted sandwiches in the fall and innovating the kids鈥� menu.

鈥淥ur kids menu has been fairly simplistic,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e investing quite a bit of energy into the kids experience.鈥�

Westcott said that while the chain鈥檚 parent company is located in the Washington, D.C., area, 鈥渨e are a local company.鈥�

鈥淲e sit here on East Broadway Boulevard in our offices. Our 550 employees are residents of the communities that they work in,鈥� he said. 鈥淲here the ownership is is not really related to how we think of the company. The brand is local and will continue to be local.鈥�

贰别驳别别鈥檚 has been a 大象APPinstitution since founders Edmund Irving and Bob Greenberg started selling frozen lemon drinks from a lemonade truck near area high schools, sporting events and concerts in 1971 before opening its first brick-and-mortar in spring 1972.

At its height in 2022, the company operated 35 locations.