Bennigans
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| Private | |
| Industry | Restaurant |
| Founded | 1976 |
| Headquarters | Dallas, Texas, U.S. |
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Key people
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Paul Mangiamele |
| Owner | Legendary Restaurant Brands, LLC |
| Website | bennigans |
Bennigan's is an Irish pub-themed casual dining restaurant chain founded in 1976 in Atlanta by restaurateur Norman E. Brinker as one of America's original casual dining concepts. The chain operated under the restaurant division of Pillsbury for most of its history, until Pillsbury was bought out by British liquor conglomerate Grand Metropolitan Known. Due to laws preventing liquor manufacturers from operating liquor sellers, the chain was sold to Texas-based Metromedia restaurants, until the company filed for bankruptcy in 2008. The chain then went through a series of restructuring and ownership changes until it was purchased by Legendary Restaurant Brands, LLC in 2015. It is now operating out of Dallas, Texas.
Bennigan's was established in 1976 in Atlanta, Georgia, as part of the Pillsbury Corporation. The first significant Bennigan's location was opened in Tysons Corner, Virginia, the following year. The concept was the brainchild of company vice president and Steak and Ale founder Norman E. Brinker. By the early 1980s Bennigan's had become one of the best known of the new style mid-range casual dining franchised "fern bar" eating and drinking establishments in the United States. In 1983, Brinker led an exodus of senior management from the S&A and Bennigan's division, purchasing a small regional restaurant concept that focused on gourmet hamburgers, Chili's. Bennigan's continued to grow across the United States, as well as opening locations in fourteen countries.
When Pillsbury was acquired by Grand Metropolitan in 1989 (Grand Met later merged with Guinness in 1997 to become Diageo), the company was spun off. As a major liquor distributor selling such brands as Bombay gin, J&B and other spirits, Grand Metropolitan was bound by "Tied house" laws that prohibited liquor distributors from owning liquor retailers. S&A management, underwritten by Metromedia, led the leveraged buyout of S&A in 1991.
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