EatZi's Closes Stores

DALLAS - EatZi‘s, the hybrid grocery-restaurant concept that made its debut amid much industry attention in the mid-1990s, has shuttered all its company-owned stores with the exception of its original store here, and a Chicago store held by a licensee. Saddled with debt that couldn‘t be satisfied with current earnings, the company yesterday closed its units in Houston; Rockville, Md.; and both locations in Atlanta. The EatZi‘s in Chicago will remain open for the time being, Cliff Smith, EatZi‘s chief executive officer, told SN. The company will sell its assets to satisfy debt incurred over the last four years, and will focus on its Dallas unit, which has been very profitable from the start. “This is a creative way to save the brand, and we‘ll build out locally from this core unit,” Smith said. The company has been bought by a small group of Dallas investors led by restaurateur Phil Romano, creator of the concept, and one of the original investors, who with Brinker International, launched EatZi‘s in 1996. The original owners sold the concept four years ago to a venture capital group. Roseanne Harper