Here is the short version for those of you looking for the "meat" of the story-
- We filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on July 25th of 2008
- We presented a plan to pay back all of our debts which was initially supported by our vendors
- We worked long and hard over the last year to turn the business around and get through this prosperously, but in the end our creditors and the bankruptcy court felt that we would not be able to repay the debt and our bankruptcy was dismissed
- We are working on new plans to keep or re-open at least one of our stores and continue to serve the community
And the background-
After many successful years in our Sparks location we decided to strike out and go big in Reno. We started planning and scouting for our new location in the spring of 2005. We put together a great facility that opened on May 1st of 2007- Butcher Boy Prime.
The new location was very well received and business was better than we had hoped when we started. Unfortunately our sales flattened and the strain of the new store caught up to us. At the time, we felt that a chapter 11 bankruptcy was the best solution as it would allow us to operate and pay back all of our creditors.
After the news spread that we had filed bankruptcy, our sales were severely impacted since a lot of folks assumed that we had closed. Unfortunately the media released part of the story, simply saying that we had filed bankruptcy (happened to be the same day that Mervyn's closed, that could not have helped....). The lost revenue seriously changed our plans for reorganization.
We made many changes to the business to deal with the lost revenue and debt, managing to get the business heading in the right direction by the end of the year. We proposed our reorganization plan to the court earlier this year and a date was set for plan confirmation before the holidays.
During those few months our sales slowly grew and things were looking better, we felt confident that our plan would be successful. As we neared the confirmation date our vendors and banks decided that they could not see us completing the plan and repaying the debts as we had proposed, and therefore asked for a dismissal of the bankruptcy protection.
After the dismissal, the bank decided to act on their right to recover the assets of the business. This basically gives us two options-
- Work with the bank to buy back equipment, inventory and real estate to re-open
- Close the doors and say goodbye
On a personal note- if you happen to know anyone that works for Butcher Boy, give them a pat on the back because they have been through a lot of tough challenges this past year and kept smiling. Big thanks to all!!!
For now we need to clear out our inventory so we are holding a sale on everything in the store- 50% off absolutely EVERYTHING starting on Friday the 27th. Time to stock up the freezers!!!
Keep an eye here for the complete story straight from us. Hope to see you soon!
Posts
I'm so sorry to read this. My wife and I moved here from Michigan in June and we just recently discovered the wonderfulness that is Butcher Boy Prime. We sure hope that things work out for you guys because we'll be sad to see you guys go.
ReplyDeleteGood luck and best wishes, Jeff and Ashley
Clint I have admired your stamina and work ethic. You have given it 110%, you and your Father should be proud of your accomplishments. I also admire your honesty; you are a true professional Chef. All will work out in the future. It’s a rough time for many of us. Take tomorrow and enjoy Thanksgiving with your family.
ReplyDeleteThank you and we will miss you. Hopefully you can open a store back up soon. I love your stuffed pork chops and stuffed chicken breasts.
ReplyDeleteOver the past 2 years I have sent e-mails to the Jolly cook/crook pointing out the lack of service in their old location and the Obamantion
ReplyDeleteat the new location, high prices, poor quality and value of lunch specials and just plain poor over the counter sandwiches. And received no answer from either location or management person. Instead of addressing the problem they ignored it but far worse is the focus of the new location, the management put all their eggs in the baskets of the yuppie high end customers they wanted to attract that seem to be migrating to Nevada and in the process of changing our demographics they took in Butcher Boy with visions of grandure and all the while just screwing those of us who "WERE" loyal customers. They lost sight of just plane good consumer repore and quality for the price along with just plane good old fashioned nice place to go to grab some good food or a quick lunch to what was the best meat counter in Reno/spark for great steaks. Sorry to see them go but I'm glad because those who don't listen in most cases don't servive and they got what they deserved. I feel sad for the couple good employees they had left, the mediocre, like the company is now on the endangered species list and just the part of a conversation that use to say, Hay, I wish Butcher Boy was still over on Rock, we could go grab a soda and a great sandwich with some fresh sides. Bye, I told you so you are greedy arrogent, You just didn't listen.
in reply to the above comment--
ReplyDeleteI would like to take a second to discuss a few of the points here.
For one, I am the one who handles ALL complaints, inquiries and comments that come to us via email. I assure you that I do my best to get back to every single person that reaches out to us and I am positive that I would have replied to your emails if they got to me.
Regarding "screwing" our existing customers, I am sure you are outnumbered by those that still continue to shop with us. Of course we have raised our prices over the last couple of years, just like every other business. To this day we still use the same markup formulas that we did in 1995 when my father bought the business. It is a simple matter of our costs increasing as every business has seen over the last few years.
And the quality of our food has never waivered. In fact, I would say that the quality of our food has improved dramatically since we opened our new location and hired an outstanding crew.
The employees that work for us today are the best we have ever seen, not just a couple but all 37 of them!
Oh yeah- it's not arrogance or greed either, we like to call it pride and capitalism.
Thanks for the comments!
Yesterday we made our bimonthly buying trip to the Reno store and thought it was closed for Thanksgiving so we drove to the Sparks store. With that store closed we began to think that closure was more serious. When we got back home we started to investigate. What a bummer to find out this was not a temporary closure. We miss the Reno staff and hope to see them again. We will check this site on a regular basis hoping to find progress towards reopening.
ReplyDeleteWhile not shopping at BBPrime as often as I would have liked to, I was always most pleased with the quality and value of everything in the store. The dry aged steaks were not in our budget for regular consumption, but on those special occasions we found them the best we had ever eaten. Yes, prices were higher for your meats than at the local grocery stores, but there was no comparison to the flavor and tenderness your meats had. The deli lunches were wonderful. I especially enjoyed the BBQ classes that Clint held at the Reno location. I am certainly hoping that you will be able to return to business very soon.
ReplyDeleteBest wishes and good luck,
Mike
I hate to see to see a localy owned quality business close. My wife and I enjoyed having lunch at the Reno location and always had a good meal and felt it was great value. We both hope you manage to reopen.
ReplyDeleteMy father would take us kids to Butcher Boy starting in 1973 which built lasting memories. Butcher Boy is the standard by which I judge all other meat departments. We have grown up on the excellent service and great quality the Jolly's brought to our family. It is a sad day to find the economic climate of today has caught up with a Reno/Sparks institution. I sincerely hope you find a way to reopen the Sparks location and get back to the basics of what brought you success. My children miss the Saturday morning adventures to the meat shop! Good luck to you all and I hope to find you again in 2010!
ReplyDeleteJust saw in facebook a comment that the Reno store will be opening in March. This is great news. We look forward to seeing you and once again shopping for the best meat and fish.
ReplyDeleteHow about those rotten hams? It's things like that that did BB in. Arrogance and screwing your customers will come back to bite you.
ReplyDeleteNot sure what you mean by rotten hams. I do apologize if you ever had an issue with anything we offered.
ReplyDeleteDid you get in touch with us after you had a problem? Thanks!