Company that owns local Perkins Restaurants files for bankruptcy

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

The owner of five Mahoning Valley Perkins Restaurants and Bakeries has filed for bankruptcy protection.

Unique Ventures Group LLC of Pittsburgh filed a voluntary petition for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania on Feb. 13.

The company said in the filing that it has 100 to 199 creditors with liabilities of $10 million to $50 million and assets of the same amount.

Unique Ventures Group operates 28 Perkins Restaurants and Bakeries and employs about 376 workers. Locally, the company operates the restaurants at 587 E. Main St. in Canfield; 3870 Elm Road NE in Warren; 1953 Niles-Cortland Road in Niles; 5550 Interstate Blvd. in Austintown; and 804 Boardman-Poland Road. It also operates the New Castle, Pa. Perkins at 3334 Wilmington Road.

Unique purchased the Perkins restaurant operations for about $38 million in 2006, according to the bankruptcy filing. Spirit Funding financed the purchase, and Unique pays Spirit $265,000 per month to “lease back” these locations. The operation of the restaurant businesses grossed about $38 million per year. But after paying Spirit and certain operating expenses, Unique reportedly was taking in only $500,000 per year.

The company also operates 10 Burger King restaurants, none of which is in the Mahoning Valley, and it has invested in Damon’s of North America LLC.

David Rudov, a Pittsburgh-based bankruptcy attorney representing Unique, said there’s no indication that the restaurants are going to close, and the company is working with Perkins Corp. and the landlord of the restaurants to generate a sale.

“We are probably going to find a buyer,” he said. “They will remain open.”