Così (restaurant)
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Fast casual restaurant Franchising |
| Founded | 1996, in New York City, United States |
| Founder | Drew Harre |
| Headquarters | Mountainside, New Jersey , United States |
Area served | Northeastern United States |
| Website | www |
Così, based in Mountainside, New Jersey, is an American fast-casual restaurant chain that specializes in flatbread sandwiches. The company name comes from the opera Così fan tutte, which was a favorite of the original owner.[1]
There are 14 Cosi restaurant locations, primarily in the Northeastern United States.
History
The first Così restaurant was opened in 1989 by Drew Harre in Paris.[1] In 1996, Shep and Jay Wainwright opened the first Così in the United States, in New York.
In October 1999, Così merged with Xando (formerly ZuZu).[2]
The company became a public company via an initial public offering in 2002.[3][4]
In July 2003, Kevin Armstrong was named CEO of the company.[5]
In June 2010, Così sold its 13 stores in Washington, D.C. to Capitol C Restaurants, owner of Qdoba Mexican Grill, as franchises, for $8.4 million.[6]
In December 2011, Carin Stutz was named CEO of the company.[7] In June 2013, she resigned.[8]
In March 2014, Così's largest franchisee, RJ Dourney, was named CEO and the company announced it was moving its corporate headquarters from Deerfield, Illinois to Boston, Massachusetts.[9][10][11]
In January 2015, RJ Dourney merged his 14 franchised Cosi restaurants into the company in exchange for shares of the company.[12]
In August 2016, CEO RJ Dourney was fired and Patrick Bennett became interim CEO.[13][14]
In September 2016, the company filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11, Title 11, United States Code and closed stores.[15][16][17] As a result of the bankruptcy filing, the company's shares were de-listed from the NASDAQ.[18][19]
In May 2017, the company emerged from bankruptcy under the ownership of MILFAM II L.P., AB Value Partners, LP, AB Value Management LLC and AB Opportunity Fund LLC.[20]
In February 2020, Così once again filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and closed several locations.[21]
However, the company withdrew its filing to make it eligible for aid under the CARES Act, passed in March 2020.[22]
In July 2022, Cosi sought to reopen its bankruptcy.[23]
References
- ^ a b ANDREWS, COLMAN (September 24, 1989). "Looking Beyond the Stars in France". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Chamis, Eleni (November 22, 1999). "Xando gets Cosi: Merger leads to new look". American City Business Journals.
- ^ GELSI, STEVE (February 24, 2003). "Cosi IPO draws shareholder suits". MarketWatch.
- ^ Hennessey, Raymond (November 17, 2002). "Cosi Restaurant Chain Mixes Ingredients Ahead of Its IPO". The Wall Street Journal.
- ^ "Cosi Names New Chief Executive". The Wall Street Journal. July 15, 2003.
- ^ "Così sells 13 Washington, D.C., restaurants for $8.4M". Fastcasual.com. April 27, 2010.
- ^ Ruggless, Ron (December 13, 2011). "Così names Carin Stutz chief executive". Nation's Restaurant News.
- ^ York, Emily Bryson (June 13, 2013). "Cosi looks to new leader, fewer stores". Chicago Tribune.
- ^ Lublin, Joann S. (June 24, 2014). "Rookie CEOs Face a Steep Learning Curve". The Wall Street Journal.
- ^ Wohl, Jessica (April 16, 2014). "Cosi moving from Deerfield to Boston". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on 15 August 2017.
- ^ Chesto, Jon (March 18, 2015). "Moving to Boston is Così's recipe for success". The Boston Globe.
- ^ Morgan, Richard (January 8, 2015). "Restaurant chain Cosi cooks up 28% jump in stock price". New York Post.
- ^ "Cosi, Inc. Announces Leadership Changes" (Press release). GlobeNewswire. August 22, 2016.
- ^ Harris, David L. (August 22, 2016). "Cosi fires CEO as struggles persist at fast-casual chain". American City Business Journals.
- ^ Maze, Jonathan (September 28, 2016). "Così files for bankruptcy". Nation's Restaurant News.
- ^ "Cosi Restaurant Chain Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy". Fortune. Reuters. September 28, 2016.
- ^ Rizzo, Lillian; Fitzgerald, Patrick (September 28, 2016). "Restaurant Chain Cosi Inc. Files for Chapter 11". The Wall Street Journal.
- ^ Carlock, Catherine (October 7, 2016). "Cosi will soon be delisted from the Nasdaq Stock Market". American City Business Journals.
- ^ Carlock, Catherine (October 11, 2016). "After bankruptcy and delisting, Cosi offers all assets for sale". American City Business Journals.
- ^ "Cosi, Inc. Emerges From Chapter 11 Bankruptcy" (Press release). GlobeNewswire. May 11, 2017.
- ^ Thorn, Bret (February 25, 2020). "Cosi files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as it transitions from a restaurant company to a catering business". Nation's Restaurant News.
- ^ Pappas, Leslie A. (May 11, 2021). "Cosi Gets Bankruptcy Case Dismissed to Apply for Covid Relief". Bloomberg Law.
- ^ Gill, Daniel (July 1, 2022). "Cosi seeks to reopen bankruptcy after surviving pandemic". Bloomberg Law.