these 6 large resturants chains got PPP bailout money

[rdking647]

potbellys
ruths chris
shake shack
taco cabana
j. alexander (restaurant not the clothing store)
Kura Sushi


6 places ill never go to again

[Igel]

1. How was the money to be used? n/t

[Ohiogal]

2. I thought Shake Shack gave theirs back.

[GaYellowDawg]

3. Didn't Shake Shack give it back?

They shouldn't have taken the money in the first place, but at least they didn't keep it.

[JCMach1]

4. Only because they got caught

[gratuitous]

6. Shake Shack did give back its $10 million

The announced reason was because they secured funding by other means. Left unanswered is the question of why they didn't go to those other sources first for funding. Because they'd have to pay it back? The CEO was interviewed yesterday on the NBC Evening News, and I think he was looking for some kind of pat on the back for being so brave and honest. The interviewer did ask him why Shake Shack elbowed its way to the front of the line in the first place, and he didn't really have an answer for that.

But yeah, Shake Shack did think better of its piggish corporate behavior once the story came out, which puts them on a slightly higher circle of Hell than Pot Belly or Ruth's Chris. Ruth's Chris gets double condemnation for taking the maximum $10 million twice, one for each corporate subsidiary.

[GaYellowDawg]

16. I agree with every word of this.

Great reply.

[Snarkoleptic]

5. Betcha the DC Ruth's Chris is overrun with lobbyists.

This theory would explain how they managed to double-dip and get TWO $10MM loans.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/ruths-chris-made-dollar468-million-in-revenue-but-gobbled-up-dollar20-million-in-small-business-relief/ar-BB12VF3O

Take, for example, Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, which has more than 150 locations and more than 5,700 employees, and is owned by the publicly traded Ruth's Hospitality Group. The company made $42 million in profit on $468 million in revenue last year, which the company partly spent on more than $5 million in stock buybacks, and it has $86 million in cash reserves. Ruth's Hospitality Group successfully applied for the maximum $10 million in PPP loans for two of its properties, even as the company reports that it has furloughed a "significant number of field and home office team members."

Employees told Popular Information that in locations across the country managers and cooks remain on the payroll, but no other hourly employees. One furloughed worker in Indianapolis received a final check in late May for $159. Meanwhile, CEO Cheryl Henry reportedly makes $6.1 million a year, with a base salary of $650,000. The PPP loan is forgivable as long as a company spends at least 75 percent of the funds on salaries up to $100,000. As Popular Information reports, Ruth's Hospitality could make that threshold merely by keeping on 150 employees.

[Hoyt]

11. Whoops. Sorry, posted in wrong spot.

[Hoyt]

12. Sorry, again. Will try not to screw it up a 3rd time.

[Wounded Bear]

7. Ate breakfast at my favorite local restaurant this morning...

we picked up our order and sat in our cars in the parking lot and ate it.



Not a chain, it's an old fashioned typical diner. Trying to give them some business to keep afloat.

[smirkymonkey]

8. Does the name "Ruth's Chris Steakhouse" bug the shit out of anyone else?

Because it really annoys me. WTF. Why not just call it "Ruth's Steakhouse" or "Chris's Steakhouse". What a stupid-ass name.

My sister, cousin and I were drunk one night and made a crank call to them and asked them about their name. They told us that Ruth bought the "Chris Steakhouse" and decided to call it "Ruth's Chris Steakhouse". FFS. Couldn't she come up with anything more original than that? Anyway, we were laughing our asses off the whole time. I don't know why we thought it was so funny, but it just cracked us up.

[DrToast]

9. Always wondered about why it was called that

Definitely an awkward name.

[TwilightZone]

10. It was actually for legal reasons.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth%27s_Chris_Steak_House#Name_change_to_Ruth's_Chris_Steak_House,_1976

The owner also hates the name.

[smirkymonkey]

15. Ah, I see.

I get it, but it's still a pretty stupid name.

[Hoyt]

13. PPP law allowed restaurants to go by employees per location. The big chains only got 0.023%

of the $349,000,000,000, or $81 Million. Probably more than they should have, but it was part of the law.

https://www.businessinsider.com/ruths-chris-potbelly-chains-tk-million-in-small-business-loans-2020-4

In any event, a lot of small businesses did get something and another round of PPP stimulus appears to be headed for enactment.

[procon]

14. Never heard if most of 'em and never ate there either.

Love our little family run taco shop, but they didn't get a dime. The other restaurant is owned by two bros and serves standard Americana cuisine, really good burgers and loaded pizzas, the breakfast menu is my all day favorite, and no money for them either.

[HarlanPepper]

17. I believe Shake Shack returned the money they got

[lpbk2713]

18. Ruth's Chris steak joint is a Hannity advertiser.

Has been for years. I've never been there and don't ever intend to.

Link: https://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x3385036

[Renew Deal]

19. How large are these?

I’ve never heard of half of them. And they certainly are impacted.