Jillian’s parent in bankruptcy, Las Vegas plans unchanged

Michelle Swafford

Wednesday, June 2, 2004 | 10:48 a.m.

Jillian's restaurant-entertainment center in downtown Las Vegas will likely be unaffected by Jillian's Entertainment Holdings Inc.'s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing and the corporation's decision to sell most of its 35 centers, the company's chief financial officer said.

Greg Stevens, chief financial officer for Jillian's Entertainment Holdings, last week said the Las Vegas center -- featuring a restaurant, bowling alley, nightclub and an arcade at 450 Fremont St. -- is independently owned and operated by Prudential Real Estate Investment, which owns Neonopolis.

"It's outside of the bankruptcy," Stevens said. "We just basically manage the property. For that location, nothing should change. It should be business as usual."

He said business as usual doesn't mean business is great -- though there are no plans to cancel the management agreement between Prudential and Jillian's.

Stevens said that sales for the Las Vegas Jillian's are approximately 50 percent lower than like-size locations because the game room doesn't do as well in Las Vegas as it does in other markets.

"We try everything we can, but it's a difficult location," he said. "Neonopolis, at the end we're at, is tough."

Louisville, Ky.-based Jillian's filed for bankruptcy after $40 million in bank loans came due and the company was not able to repay them. The company has received two offers for the majority of its centers.

Dallas-based Dave & Buster's Inc., an operator of several similar restaurant-entertainment complexes announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Tango Acquisitions Inc., has offered to purchase the majority of Jillian's assets and nine entertainment centers for $27.6 million. Boston-based Gemini Investors III has offered $11 million for 19 other centers. The remaining locations would be sold individually.

"There's certainly the possibility that going forward somebody comes in and says, 'I want the whole thing,' " Stevens said.

A Jillian's in Denver operates similar to Las Vegas in that it isn't owned by Jillian's Entertainment Holdings, but is managed the firm.

In Las Vegas, Prudential pays Jillian's a fee to manage the approximately 40,000-square-foot entertainment center with 105 employees.

Theresa Miller, spokeswoman for Prudential, said there are no plans to alter the Las Vegas Jillian's operations.

"We don't have any plans to terminate the agreement with Jillian's based on this filing," she said.

There is no plan to close Jillian's either, she added.

Neonopolis as a whole is for sale, which could alter Jillian's fate once it is sold.

CB Richard Ellis is marketing Neonopolis, which to date has produced disappointing financial results.

Mark Bouchard, managing director of CB Richard Ellis, said Jillian's is not a big factor in marketing the overall Neonopolis complex.

"The big factor is the downtown environment as a whole," Bouchard said. "The Jillian's situation is a minor element as it relates to the project as a whole."