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Sam Seltzer's Enters Bankruptcy

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By JEROME R. STOCKFISCH

The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 1, 2008

TAMPA - TAMPA - Blaming the belt-tightening in a tough economy that makes dining out less of a priority, the parent of Sam Seltzer's Steakhouse has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

A spokeswoman said the chain's nine restaurants, centered chiefly in the Tampa Bay area, will remain open. "We're just trying to reorganize and come out of it stronger," said executive assistant Pamela Fisher. "We're hoping for business as usual."

Chapter 11 of the U.S. bankruptcy code protects a company from creditors as it reorganizes its affairs. The voluntary petition filed Friday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Tampa by Sam Seltzer's Distribution Inc. stated that funds will be available for distribution to unsecured creditors.

The petition listed liabilities of $10 million to $50 million, and assets in the same range. It said the filing would affect between 200 and 1,000 creditors.

Sam Seltzer was a butcher in Montreal. While his bow-tied visage serves as the restaurant's image, the family patriarch was never involved with the restaurant chain. A pair of Seltzer cousins moved from Montreal to launch the chain in Florida in 1995.

The flagship Dale Mabry Highway restaurant, with its signature life-size cattle statues, also serves as corporate headquarters.

In 2005, the chain announced it had secured $11 million in financing and would expand to up to 30 restaurants across the state. Instead, the economic malaise took its toll, and Sam Seltzer's wound up closing one of its restaurants in Lakeland.

"Restaurants suffer in economic hard times," said Maggie Gaby, a spokeswoman for the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association. "They do their best to hold the line and try to not pass high costs along to customers. But fuel costs and the constant increase in food costs isn't helping our field, as well."

Fisher said Tampa Bay area residents simply aren't going out as much. "We're fortunate to be able to stay open," she said. "So many others haven't been able to."

Reporter Jerome R. Stockfisch

can be reached at (813) 259-8402 or jstockfisch@tampatrib.com.

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