Idaho Business Review IBR
One Chili’s in Boise is located across from Albertsons Stadium. Photo by Teya Vitu.
An Ogden, Utah fast food franchiser on Oct. 28 acquired all seven Chili’s Grill & Bar restaurants in Idaho through U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Great Falls, Mont.
In all, Paradigm Restaurants, an offshoot of Meridian Restaurants in Ogden, acquired 11 Chili’s in Idaho, Montana and Washington that had been owned by Shoot the Moon LLC, a Great Falls, Mont., company that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in October 2015.
The purchase for an undisclosed price includes two Chili’s in Boise, two in Spokane, and one each in Meridian, Twin Falls, Pocatello, Idaho Falls, Coeur d’Alene, Great Falls and Helena, Mont.
Meridian Restaurants specifically established Paradigm to operate these Chili’s with intentions to expand to 20 restaurants in these three states and potentially other states, said John Little, vice president of operations at Paradigm Restaurants.
Idaho expansions likely would include Nampa, which Shoot the Moon already had eyes on, and possibly Lewiston and other cities Little didn’t want to discuss.
Paradigm intends to install new kitchen equipment in nearly all of the Chili’s as well as remodel bars at a combined cost exceeding $500,000, Little said.
“We are willing to invest in our properties,” he said.
Prior to shifting over to Paradigm, Little headed Meridian’s 20 Burger King operations in Montana and Wyoming, where 13 stores were remodeled. Meridian operates 86 Burger Kings in seven states and two El Pollo Loco restaurants in Arizona.
Shoot the Moon also owned three On the Border Mexican Grills in Boise, Meridian and Great Falls that were shut down in October 2015. Shoot the Moon’s president, Kenneth Hatzenbeller, faces five felony charges filed in August by the Montana State Securities Commission, the Great Falls Tribune reported.
