BENNIGAN'S ARE CLOSED?! GOD! NO! Also, I hear there are franchisees that are still open. How do we discover said franchises, and how quickly can I get a Big Irish in my stomach?

I’m big and Irish bend over?

Bravo kevbo! Bravo!

What’s a Bennigans?

@nayeight—That’s what I said when I first saw a news article about them closing. I’d never heard of the place. So I Googled! According to Wikipedia, “Bennigan’s Grill & Tavern, commonly known as Bennigan’s, is a faux-Irish pub-themed casual dining restaurant chain with locations throughout the United States.”

There is one about a mile away from my house. It is not closing! Yay for us!

I will miss them. Two national restaurant chains closed yesterday and Starbucks announced layoffs of 1,000 people.

Starbucks could close half of it’s total stores and you wouldn’t have trouble finding one… There were more Starbucks in the UAE there are Bennigans left in the USA now :(

Sorry to be a downer, but God forbid people actually get their food from a restaurant instead of a corporation. Good riddance. I’ll bet you any amount of money you can find a better burger at a independently owned local restaurant.

I can, but they cost $3 more for a smaller burger and close at 10. I liked being able to go in at 1:00am and eat with my friends. There’s a reason I’m upset.

get a local spot to start making these burgers you yearn for.

Hit up that suggestion box or open up your own place.

…because getting a business loan to have a hamburger makes sense? I don’t think so. The closest thing to a burger from Bennigan’s we can get now is probably from Chili’s, but Chili’s is pretty stupid with price-to-portions. Buck and Loon’s is the best burger I’ve ever had, 1 of a kind restaraunt here in Arlington… 1lbs Shannon Burger with Dijon Mustard and Fries is $8.99 – Can’t beat that with a baseball bat, but they close up at 10:00pm most nights :(

what??!? bennigans is closing??! I love the Monte Cristo! you mean I’ll never get one, ever again???? my life will never be complete now…. the monte cristo was soo good… :( I must google search and find an independent franchise near ohio or something

@8lightminutesaway—I’d never heard of Bennigan’s but I’ve had a Monte Cristo… So I’m pretty sure you’ll be able to have one again some day. Just not from Bennigan’s.

I hope so… but will it be the same? will it come with raspberry jelly and powdered sugar?

…that’s what makes it a Monte Cristo. Well, that and having the whole thing deep fried. Check out “Which Wich?” brand of sandwich stores to see if there’s one of those near you… they have tons of sandwiches, all of which are amazing. I’ve never had a bad one from there, save for the Monte Cristo: But I’m not big on a deep fried sandwich dusted with powdered sugar to be dipped in jelly… heh.

The news item in the Chicago Tribune noted that “Bennigan’s shuttered its roughly 150 company-owned stores, though about 140 franchise outlets will remain open.”

I guess you could locate the nearest franchised outlet at WhitePages,com

That’s what I would do.

August 28, 2008, 9:45 PM EDT

Bennigan’s has been around since at least the mid-80s. They and ChiChi’s [or was it Chili’s] seemed to appear at the same time. One Irish, one TexMex but walk into either and see the same formula pub. Agreeable but chain formula. I always wondered if they were both developed by the same person[s].

@Lovelocke are you in Arlington VA? Then that’s probably the Bennigans I used to go to in a former life.