DALLAS Bennigan's Franchising Co. LP, which is leading the Bennigan’s franchise community following the bankruptcy filing of brand owner S&A Restaurant Co. last month, has retained industry veterans Doug Benham and Vince Runco to assist in setting up support systems.
Benham, the former president and chief executive of Arby’s, is serving as a board-level adviser. Runco, a former president and chief executive of S&A parent Metromedia Restaurant Group, is serving in those same roles on an interim basis for Bennigan’s Franchising.
About 132 franchised Bennigan’s Grill & Tavern units remain open following the Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing of S&A, with franchisees looking to buy 30 to 60 of the roughly 200 Bennigan’s and Steak and Ale corporate units that were shuttered.
Bennigan’s Franchising said Benham and Runco would focus on franchise support.
“My previous role included growth and operations of the franchise system,” Runco said, “and I remain committed to the franchisees with whom I have worked with for nearly a decade.”
Runco was at MRG from 1999 to 2007, during which he also served as chief operating officer and president of the worldwide franchising division.
