Seldom Blues and Detroit’s Breakfast House & Cafe, two of the city’s most prominent downtown dining places owned by the Southern Hospitality Group operated by restaurateur Frank Taylor, have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
The action taken on Sept. 11 by both restaurants, according to spokesman Michael Layne. comes in light of the current economic climate in Detroit and the nation.
Bankruptcy was the only option, Layne said.
Seldom Blues, a tenant of General Motors located at the Renaissance Center, and Detroit’s Breakfast House will continue to stay open with management in place to run the day-to-day business operations.
“When Seldom Blues opened in June 2004, GM had just completed a $500 million renovation of the Renaissance Center. At that time, the 5.5 million square foot GM world headquarters helped generate a built-in lunch and weeknight dinner crowd, with an employee base the size of the city,” Layne said in a release. “We didn’t foresee GM’s bankruptcy and dramatic downsizing and the worst recession to hit Detroit since the Great Depression.”
Reached on his cell phone Tuesday afternoon, Taylor said there shouldn’t be any panic in the community and that there would be no layoffs among the restaurants’ staff.
“Again this is a sign of the times when you have companies like GM, Chrysler and others go through bankruptcy and come out of it,” Taylor said. “To be honest, for us to return to profitable status we had to do this. We have been in the city for five years and our goal is to be here for another 15 years.”
Seldom Blues, noted for being the scene for most high profile and political events, has a 300 seating in a 15,000 square foot area.
“We’ve been a part of this community providing great customer service, world class entertainment and great atmosphere,” Taylor said. “We want people to continue to support our restaurants because Seldom Blues has done a lot for the community.”
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