Alaska may have gained its first-ever Olive Garden, but according to the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman, the state has lost all three of its Chili's Grill and Bar locations, one each in Fairbanks, Anchorage and Wasilla.
Some 600 people abruptly found themselves out of a job.
"I can confirm Chili's Anchorage, Fairbanks and Wasilla restaurants have closed," a spokesperson for the Chili's brand wrote in an email. "We recently made the difficult decision to terminate the franchisee rights previously held by Duke Investments. Alaska has been a valuable market for our brand for more than a decade and we will continue to evaluate options to bring local guests their Chili's favorites at standalone locations."
Duke Investments found strong success when it brought a Chili's franchise to Anchorage, breaking franchise records when it opened (as is often the case with national chains who enter the isolated market). But out of a belief in "synergy," franchise operator Brinker International required Duke to open other locations.
The Fairbanks location -- the least profitable of the three -- reportedly had trouble finding effective staff and had been labeled a "cash drain" by a bankruptcy judge. The Wasilla location was more successful than that, but in 2010, Duke Investments "had literally almost run out of time" to take care of the defaults on the store's lease, the ruling says.
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