More Empty Space at the Mall
The Bennigan’s and Steak & Ale restaurant chains have filed for bankruptcy and are closing their doors, leading to the elimination of some 300 stores, The Wall Street Journal says today. The two sit-down chains have been part of the casual dining landscape for decades, the paper explains. These closings follow a recent decision from Starbucks to close 600 stores. All this means more empty space at the mall, and more problems for regional banks that made commercial real estate loans for strip mall developments. Calculated Risk explains it this way: "More empty space available. More bad debt. More consumer ripples."
The credit squeeze keeps getting tighter.
