"bankruptcy" news and stories

Jolt Cola -- the evening study fuel of many a cramming student and the precursor to caffeine-packed energy drinks like Red Bull -- may soon be no more.

Jolt Co. Inc. filed for bankruptcy last year after racking up more than $5 million in debt to a Chicago can manufacturer. The company was optimistic about restructuring, but plans fell apart this week, putting the future of the double-caffeinated cola into jeopardy, a Jolt attorney told the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle.

"The name will show up someplace else, but just that," William I. Kohn of Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff told the paper. "I don't see anybody buying the entire package."

Jolt founder Carl J. Rapp, who started the company in 1985, fought the restructuring of the company and blamed its current situation on an investment group that owns a large stake in the company, the paper reports.

Will you miss Jolt Cola? Spill it in the comments.

[Via Rochester Democrat & Chronicle]

New York's Tavern on the Green. Photo: Paul Hawthorne/Getty Images

New York's historic Tavern on the Green has filed for bankruptcy just days after New York City awarded a new restaurateur the license to operate the Central Park eatery.

Jennifer Oz LeRoy, the chief executive of the restaurant, said the Chapter 11 filing is "our only alternative given the current situation." On Aug. 28, the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation awarded Dean Poll a 20-year operating license for the space on the west side of Central Park. The LeRoy family has run the restaurant since the 1970s.

But will Tavern on the Green remain open in the interim?

When I think of Mother's Cookies, I immediately slip back into my childhood. I remember Sunday School snack, which often consisted of a tiny cup of grape juice and one or two of those pink and white frosted, animal shaped sugar cookies. During high school, my friends and I would often run to the dirty downtown Safeway for snacks to last us through play rehearsal and often, a bag of Mother's Cookies would return to school with us.

As of this Monday, there will be no more fresh memories of Mother's Cookies. The Oakland, CA-based company abruptly closed their doors and filed for bankruptcy protection, citing the rising costs of fuel and supplies as the reason. A number of people lost their jobs in the closing and the country lost an iconic cookie.



[via Married with Dinner]

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It appears that right now is not a good time to be in the food business. First Bennigan's closed the majority of their stores and now Mrs. Field's Famous Brand is planning on filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

According to Forbes, the cookie maker won't be able to make a scheduled debt payment in September. The company is currently "soliciting votes from creditors for a 'prepackaged' bankruptcy reorganization plan." That means that the people in charge at Mrs. Field's are talking to creditors to see if they'll agree to the company's reorganization plans. So far about two thirds of the creditors have agreed to the prepackaged bankruptcy deal.

For the plan to go through, Mrs. Field's has to file by August 25. It's been forever since I had a Mrs. Field's cookie, and if lots of other consumers are like me, that's probably part of the reason they're heading into bankruptcy. Are Mrs. Field's products good enough to save, or should the company just give it up?

[via Coldmud]

Could Wonder Bread is going the way of so many other empty carbohydrates, disappearing into the annals of pop culture? So says NPR's Morning Edition. The company that makes the stuff, as well as Hostess Cupcakes, Twinkies, and other preservative-packed goodies, filed for bankruptcy protection last year. Interstate Bakeries has closed eight factories across the country and won't be selling Wonder Bread to Oregon and Washington starting next month.

The company blames low-carb diets and the new FDA requirements for labeling products which contain trans-fatty acids. In my opinion, the market for white bread is declining due to the wide availability of fresh-baked, artisan breads and the changing tastes (i.e., to "good") of the Pacific Northwest population. Despite my snooty foodieness, though, the slow extinction of Wonder Bread makes me a little sad.

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