The Quiznos Death Watch Begins
America is little more than prairie riddled with chain stores and fast food restaurants, so when a big national store it's bankrupt, it's a bit like losing a vapid but beloved family member. We just lost Borders. Is Quiznos next?
The poop-associated sandwich chain announced earlier this month that it's going to default on its loan agreements, which could mean... lots of things, but none of them very good. The WSJ sums up the problems:
Quiznos's debt load stems in large part from a leveraged buyout five years ago. Quiznos took on hundreds of millions of dollars in debt in the deal, in which private-equity firm CCMP Capital Advisors LLC acquired a minority stake in the company...
"Having a great deal of debt hampers your ability to grow because you're paying back interest, rather than investing in the brand," said Darren Tristano, executive vice president at restaurant consulting firm Technomic Inc.
Also, Quiznos sales are down because everyone's buying $5 footlongs at Subway now, so, you know, I don't see the ray of light at the end of the baguette, here? The death watch is on. We don't really care about Quiznos one bit, but if they disappear you know a Subway will just pop up in every last one of their dead locations, and that could be a bit much.
