Giordano's files for bankruptcy protection

razbry wrote:Well I feel bad for all the people who won't get paid, and employees who might possibly lose their jobs. The pizza I won't miss...not a fan.

The bankruptcy filing Wednesday allowed the businesses to address "urgent liquidity needs" by getting a $36 million loan from Fifth Third. On Thursday the court approved using a portion of that loan to pay employees and vendors so the chain could continue operating.

"The pizza operation is profitable, but not at a level to deal with the real estate collapse," Gesas said.

Giordano's has six company-owned stores in the Chicago area, four joint-venture stores and 35 franchisee locations, according to court documents.

at ChicagoTribune.com, Becky Yerak and Ameet Sachdev wrote:John Apostolou sits in a cafe at Rush and Superior streets, across from a popular Giordano's pizzeria in the tourist-teeming neighborhood. He would like to be inside the restaurant he ran, but he has been banned from the premises since last month.

The 65-year-old Greek immigrant was forced to relinquish control of the Giordano's pizza chain, which he has owned since 1988. The business has been operating under bankruptcy protection since February, but Apostolou can no longer enter its Rush Street headquarters or even patronize the restaurant. An investment banker has been hired to sell the chain.

It has been a devastating loss for Apostolou, who started as a cook at a Giordano's in 1979 and worked his way up to management before buying the business from the founders.

"I still don't know why I was replaced," he said from the cafe in the Peninsula Hotel. "I didn't want to sell the pizza chain." He said he wasn't given the time to independently raise funds to retain control of the business.

But he is mostly to blame for his predicament. Apostolou's lawyer admits that his client made some mistakes that resulted in losing control of the business while in bankruptcy.

The biggest mistakes are unusual documents Apostolou filed in court by himself in which he improperly tries to terminate the bankruptcy, alleging fraud and other misdeeds. The documents included an affidavit also signed by his wife, Eva, in which they claim they don't recognize U.S. currency and are free of any legal constraints.

Apostolou also fired Giordano's bankruptcy attorney, prompting the U.S. Justice Department to ask the bankruptcy court to appoint a trustee to seize the business from the owner and management team.

"Because of certain perspectives that the Apostolous have … they have done a few things that merit this court's attention," trustee Philip Martino said earlier this month during a court hearing. "Perhaps it contributed to the lack of confidence that creditors have and certainly were part of the reason that I wanted them removed as fiduciaries."

The Apostolous' affidavit is for the most part incoherent, but one person recognized the language. J.J. MacNab is a Maryland insurance analyst who has researched anti-government groups and testified before Congress. She said the affidavit's pseudo-legal nonsense has all the hallmarks of a loose-knit anti-government group known as "sovereign citizens."

at ChicagoTribune.com, Becky Yerak wrote:A Giordano's bankruptcy hearing turned into what the judge called a "sideshow" and a "circus" and resulted in an Arizona man being led away by three security guards and escorted out of the building after he interrupted the proceedings and made a vaguely threatening remark.

Marshall Home, who has intervened in the Chicago pizza chain's bankruptcy by filing a $150 million claim that the trustee says is fraudulent, appeared at a hearing Tuesday with John Apostolou, the eatery's owner.

Apostolou, trying to maintain control of his restaurant chain, had sought help from Home, who this year tried declaring the state of Arizona and U.S. government bankrupt. Members of the Apostolou family were among the dozens of signatories in that case, dismissed May 18, which also called Home a "vexatious litigant."

Judy H wrote:Is there something about pizza chains that breeds right wingers? Herman Cain and whatever the name of the guy who owns Dominos being exhibits A and B -- although quite sane compared to Apostolou, it sounds like.

Cathy2 wrote:

Judy H wrote:Is there something about pizza chains that breeds right wingers? Herman Cain and whatever the name of the guy who owns Dominos being exhibits A and B -- although quite sane compared to Apostolou, it sounds like.

Eccentrics cover all religious and political stripes. No exclusivity on that.

Regards,

d4v3 wrote:The winning bidders included a capital investment firm run by Richard Levy, the principles of Connies Pizza and the sons of the current owners of Giodanos. The Rush st. store alone went for 16 million! I had no idea that chain was worth 61.6 million. If Giordano's is worth that much, Burt should be a Billionaire.

at ChicagoTribune.com, Becky Yerak wrote:As the Giordano's pizza chain struggled to pay its debts, the former owners were "looting" the company of millions of dollars through "large and unjustified" salary increases as well as payments that covered their personal debts, according to a lawsuit by the bankruptcy trustee.

at ChicagoTribune.com, Becky Yerak wrote:"Defendants were able to funnel millions of dollars in company assets to themselves while causing injury to the debtors' creditors" and while the business was "insolvent," said the lawsuit, filed Friday by Philip Martino, bankruptcy trustee.