Three Bidders Vying For Brown’s Chicken

CHICAGO (STMW) — A bidder affiliated with the former spurned vice president of Brown’s Chicken is offering $265,000 for the restaurant chain, said the attorney representing the creditors’ committee.

Pop-Grip LLC, a newly formed Illinois limited liability company, submitted its bid before the 5 p.m. Monday deadline, said attorney Scott Schreiber.

One of Pop-Grip’s members is Tom Kennefick Jr., son of Brown’s 37-year former vice president and minority owner. A judge ruled last year that the elder Kennefick was owed $882,000 for his share in the company.

So far, Pop-Grip’s bid is higher than the $250,000 offer submitted Friday by BAB Inc., a Deerfield-based company that owns Big Apple Bagels, My Favorite Muffin and Brewsters’ Coffee.

A third bid was submitted late Monday, but no details were available.

Brown’s Chicken & Pasta restaurants agreed to be put on the auction block after warring factions forced it into bankruptcy.

A spokesman for BAB did not return phone calls.

Kennefick’s attorney, Robert Lang, said, “We are looking forward to a new chapter for Brown’s Chicken.”

Brown’s operates 38 restaurants, of which two are company-owned. The rest are franchised.

The company was forced to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last December after a DuPage County judge ruled in favor of former co-owner Kennefick.

Kennefick, of Villa Park, owned 36 percent of the company’s stock, while Frank Portillo Jr., Brown’s chairman and co-founder, owns 64 percent.

The bids still must be reviewed and will be considered at an upcoming auction, at which time the bidders may increase their offers.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2010. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)