Running a successful restaurant is tough at the best of times, whether it's fine dining establishments, iconic diners and even behemoth chains. While many spots sadly shutter and disappear forever, there are some heartwarming stories of places that have been rescued by investors and, sometimes, by the customers who can’t bear the thought of losing them. Here are some of the restaurants that have come back from the brink.
The curtains very nearly fell forever at this iconic diner on Broadway. Badly hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, which shut down the area’s famous theatre scene as well as forcing eateries to close during lockdown periods, the 1950s-themed diner – known for its singing waiting staff – faced eviction. In July 2020, the diner was warned that it would be forced to close unless it paid $618,000 (£452,000) owed to its landlord.
Management launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise money to help out-of-work employees and it was a relief that the diner, which has been a popular stop for people going to Broadway shows since 1987, was able to reopen.
Gourmet Burger Kitchen, which had more than 60 locations across the UK and Ireland, had suffered in the face of growing competition and underwent major restructuring in 2018. The chain, known for juicy burgers loaded with various gourmet toppings, had begun to see an upturn in its profits before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, devastating much of the hospitality industry. Its owner, South African company Famous Brands, started the administration process in summer 2020.
It was scooped up in a rescue deal by Boparan Restaurant Group, which has bought several other casual dining chains out of insolvency including Carluccio’s. The restructuring under the deal only saved 35 of the 61 sites, but guests were pleased to see this Antipodean burger joint survive. The restaurants pivoted to delivery during UK lockdowns, before opening fully in 2021.
Vapiano was founded in Hamburg, Germany in 2002, and its restaurants serve Italian-style pizza and pasta prepared in signature open kitchens. At its peak, the global chain had more than 230 restaurants – including part-franchised locations – across more than 30 countries, with a large presence in the UK and six restaurants in the US. The COVID-19 pandemic hit the already struggling chain hard and the publicly traded company applied for insolvency in April 2020.
A group of investors swooped in and saved the chain, buying the bulk of the business including restaurants operated by Vapiano and the franchise business, although the franchised restaurants themselves were not included in the deal. What’s left of the company will be liquidated, though diners around the world should once again be able to feast on house-made pizzas, fresh pasta dishes and platters of antipasti.
Neighbourhood brasserie Bellanger was opened in Islington, North London in 2015 by major restaurant group Corbin & King, whose portfolio includes icons such as The Wolseley in Piccadilly. Despite opening to rave reviews, the French-style restaurant struggled to pull in enough customers. In August 2019, Jeremy King announced Bellanger would close and said, "Much as it had been a great critical success this wasn’t matched financially."
But, despite the COVID-19 pandemic causing huge losses in the hospitality industry, Corbin & King bucked the trend by reopening Bellanger in August 2020. It hopes the restaurant will be successful now as people are working from home with more regularity, so are likely to dine out in a residential area. The decision was made after a local survey received 4,000 responses from people who wanted the restaurant back. Its new incarnation has a less formal, more relaxed style akin to a Parisian café.
The blue awnings of Carluccio’s are a familiar sight around the UK and especially around London, where the original Covent Garden spot was founded by the late, legendary restaurateur Antonio Carluccio in 1991, originally as an Italian food shop. The chain operated separately to the flagship restaurant, which was forced to close by developers in 2012, but faced its own struggles in the face of growing competition, exacerbated by the COVID-19 crisis. It went into administration in March 2020, soon after the first national lockdown was announced.
Fans shouldn’t have to mourn the loss of their favourite pasta dishes and mushrooms on toast for too long, though, as Carluccio’s was saved by Boparan Restaurant Group in a last-minute rescue deal. The group, which already owned casual dining chains including Giraffe and Ed’s Easy Diner and recently snapped up Gourmet Burger Kitchen, plans to save around 30 restaurants – though the remaining 40 or so face closure.
The first California Pizza Kitchen was a trailblazer when it opened in glitzy Beverly Hills in 1985, serving classic pizzas with toppings inspired by its home state. It quickly expanded with over 250 restaurants in more than 30 states, plus 11 countries including the UK. Like many other chains and restaurants, loss of profits due to COVID-19 led to CPK filing for bankruptcy in July 2020.
California Pizza Kitchen looked destined to be confined to hospitality history, having failed to attract any bids for its assets and forced to hand over the company to bank lenders. But the chain announced in late 2020 that it had completed its restructuring process and would relaunch with reduced debt. Now open again, the restaurant has new innovations in place, including a focus on healthier, lower-fat and plant-based menu items.
This Newport institution claims to be the oldest operating restaurant in the US, the 10th oldest restaurant in the world and... home to a resident ghost. But it might not be around today at all had it not been for determined efforts to preserve its history. The White Horse was opened by William Mayes, Sr in 1673 and it's his son – a pirate who inherited ownership – whose ghost some say lingers around the bar. But by the mid-20th century, the neglected building faced demolition.
Generous donations allowed the Newport Preservation Society to undertake restoration efforts, saving the 17th-century maroon building and allowing it to safely reopen as a tavern in 1957. It’s now a protected structure, placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972, allowing people to continue enjoying dishes such as clam chowder and huge burgers. It’s passed through different hands since, last bought by a local group in 2014.
Newcastle upon Tyne is known for its medieval streets and equally old taverns, and Blackfriars Restaurant claims to have the oldest dining hall in the country. Its banquet hall dates back to the 13th century and was used by King Edward III to welcome Scottish royal, Edward Balliol, to the city in 1334. The building – originally home to the Dominican Order or Black Friars – fell into disrepair after Henry VIII ordered the dissolution of monasteries in the 16th century.
The church itself was flattened and later rebuilt, and for centuries the priory buildings were looked after by tradesmen who were granted use of them. The site was restored in the 1970s and housed various businesses before returning as a place of feasting in 2001. Andy and Sam Hook opened it as a restaurant, refurbishing it in 2010. The main dining room serves refined pub grub, while the banquet hall – with dark wood, chandeliers and intricate wall coverings – usually hosts weddings and events.
Chef Greg Sonnier and wife Mary first opened Gabrielle in 1992 and quickly won widespread praise for Creole and Cajun dishes like rich gumbo and barbecued shrimp. Their signature slow-roasted duck (pictured) inspired an entire feature in The New York Times and Greg was a finalist in the 2005 James Beard Awards. Just months later, that August, Hurricane Katrina hit, followed by devastating floods. The restaurant was damaged and the couple sold the building.
Despite many other setbacks, the Sonniers didn’t give up on their dream of reopening Gabrielle – and they eventually did in late 2017. The new location is near Mid-City, a little outside the centre, and the building was painted in the same bold shades of blue and yellow as the original Esplanade Avenue spot. They also combed through old menus to decide which dishes to bring back, with the duck dish among the returning favourites.
To say this brasserie’s first year in business has been a rollercoaster would be an understatement. Pier Brasserie opened on Edinburgh’s Newhaven Harbour in February 2020 with much buzz, occupying a waterfront spot in the former Fishmarket building. Then, just weeks later, the UK entered the first national lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Owner Mark Patonyi, who had previously managed several other popular restaurants, was told his business was too new to qualify for government grants or the furlough scheme that would help him pay staff.
It looked like the restaurant may have to shutter completely, despite being packed out in the initial weeks of opening – until Patonyi decided to launch takeaway offerings. Operating with just head chef, Vladimir Garcik, and a skeleton staff of two, the brasserie offered a menu of regional produce and seafood straight from the harbour, before opening back as a full restaurant when lockdowns ended.
Known for generous portions and oversized coffee cups, this Belgian-owned café is popular for breakfast, lunch meetings and just grabbing a drink and pastry. But it was struggling even before COVID-19 hit, with increasing competition and mounting debts. Restaurant closures due to the pandemic exacerbated its issues and there were reports in April 2020 that the chain was on the brink of collapse. The US arm, PQ New York, filed for bankruptcy a month later.
New York-based restaurant operator Aurify Brands snapped up the 98 US locations with plans to reopen at least 35. The new owners also intend to rehire roughly half of the 2,500 employees who lost their jobs early in the pandemic. Elsewhere, newly-formed company BrunchCo bought 15 of the 26 UK locations along with sites in Belgium and France. The rescued locations opened with their famed bread still at the centre of the offering.
People have huddled over platters of cheese and lingered over bottles of wine at The French House since the late 19th century. So when the Grade II-listed building, a stalwart of London’s Soho, faced possible closure due to lost income during the COVID-19 pandemic, the city nearly lost an icon. Over the years, it's hosted poet Dylan Thomas, artist Francis Bacon and former French president Charles de Gaulle, who used it as his unofficial headquarters while exiled during the Second World War.
The Dean Street favourite, known as Soho’s “village pub” with a dining room upstairs, launched a crowdfunding campaign in May 2020. The aim was to raise £80,000 ($109,000) to save what the GoFundMe page describes as one of “the last bastions of old Soho” – and they exceeded the original target, and opened up fully again when lockdowns ended.
Pretty much everyone who grew up in the US – or watched American TV shows and movies – will be aware of Chuck E. Cheese, the classic kids’ birthday treat location. But the party was nearly over for the fun family restaurant chain, which has around 600 locations across the US and in several other countries. Parent company CEC Entertainment, which also owns Peter Piper Pizza and was bought by private equity firm Apollo Global Management in 2014, suffered in the wake of retail closures and lockdown due to COVID-19, and declared bankruptcy in June 2020.
The company reported that same-store sales dropped 21.9% during the first quarter of that year, which is usually its busiest period. However it looks like kids (and parents) can breathe a sigh a relief as Chuck E. Cheese is set to party on, having emerged from bankruptcy proceedings in early January 2021 with a financial restructuring plan and reduced debt.
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Pizzeria chain Sbarro was founded in Brooklyn, New York in 1956 and today has around 600 Italian-style restaurants worldwide, with its biggest presence still in the US. But it certainly hasn’t been a smooth ride, with the company filing for bankruptcy twice – first in 2011, when it underwent a reorganisation, and again in 2014. The restaurants were primarily found in shopping malls and it was suggested this reliance – along with losing its focus by expanding its menu too widely – led to its downfall.
It was saved from oblivion the second time by new buyers including David Karam – who stepped in as CEO – and private equity firms. After a few false starts, Sbarro is going back to its roots as a by-the-slice pizza seller for the “impulse” market (i.e. those who can’t resist the waft of dough, cheese and tomato). It’s even opening new stores, with a handful of locations across the UK.
Cafe Milano is a legend in Washington DC – and beyond the capital too. The spot was founded by Italian immigrant and restauranteur Franco Nuschese in 1992 and has been a hotspot for VIPs from politicians to celebrities ever since. It oozes chic charm: think delicious upscale Italian dishes, decor styled like a Milan boutique and a room inspired by and named after opera singer Placido Domingo. But the COVID-19 pandemic hit hard and the restaurant had to close and lay off staff as it considered its future.
Cafe Milano’s beloved place in the hearts of its regulars is what saved it. The restaurant – which has a second location at the Four Seasons in Abu Dhabi – launched a GoFundMe campaign in March 2020 to raise money to support its workers and quickly exceeded its initial target of $75,000 (£55,000). People were also able to purchase gift certificates, with all proceeds going towards the same Team Relief Fund. The restaurant reopened in late 2020 with curbside pick-up to begin with, and now as fully opened restaurant.