DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 28, 1995--Wyatt's Cafeterias, recently renamed Triangle FoodService Corporation, has filed a plan for reorganization with the bankruptcy court.
Only 34 days earlier, Triangle FoodService had filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11 of the Federal Bankruptcy Code. Joe Colonnetta, CEO of Triangle FoodService Corporation, said, "What made this 65-year-old company a once great cafeteria chain had been lost forever by the time we took control of the Board last June.
"Our mission was not to restore it to its previous stature, but to find the remaining core value which could be revitalized into a viable and competitive company. In order to continue to revitalize the core business of Wyatt's, we needed to restructure the capital base of the company.
"We are pleased to submit a plan which offers a more secure future for the hundreds of people employed by Wyatt's and which deals fairly with all the company's constituents."
The major thrust of the plan is to exchange the debt held by secured creditors for equity in the new Triangle FoodService Corporation. This reorganization will enable Triangle FoodService to move forward with the revitalization strategy the company began in January 1995.
Wyatt's Faced Considerable Challenges When New Management Took Over -------------------------------------------------------------------
Colonnetta and his associate, Malcolm McArdle, Triangle's current chairman, took control of the Wyatt's Board of Directors June 13, 1994. Once Wyatt's was stabilized, Wyatt's institutional owners recruited Colonnetta as president of the company in the fall of 1994 with the mandate of trying to rebuild a company which was in desperate trouble.
Colonnetta has a positive track record in advising troubled restaurant boards and participating in restaurant turnarounds, including the 700-unit Friendly's and the 450-unit Perkins Family Restaurants.
Colonnetta recalls that when his team arrived at Wyatt's they immediately faced the challenge of making $1.2 million payroll with virtually no money in the bank. "Wyatt's was a company in dire straits when we were brought in," he noted.
"A good part of Wyatt's demise had to do with the company's failure to deliver a quality dining experience to customers," added Colonnetta. "Over the years they created a very disrespectful environment for customers with discourteous service. As a food professional, that's a crime. It's a good way to run yourself out of business," Colonnetta explained.
