Seattle Based Company Files for Bankruptcy, Closes Palomino in Bellevue

Unfortunately, not all major companies that are based out of Seattle are hiring – let alone expanding like Amazon.   Restaurants Unlimited Inc, a Seattle based company established in 1969 has filed for bankruptcy.  Their restaurant repertoire includes chains like Palomino, Stanford’s, and Henry’s Tavern and Pike Place Market favorite, Cutter’s Crabhouse.  Restaurants Unlimited Inc (RUI) operates in six states, including Oregon, California, and Colorado.  Immediately prior to the filing, RUI immediately closed six restaurants, including Palomino in Bellevue.

In part of RUI’s filings, they blamed wage increases in San Francisco, Portland, and of course, Seattle.  Regrettably, the foot traffic in their restaurants also did not fair as well as they’d hoped.  In previous years, RUI tried to sell but it didn’t come to fruition.  They then turned to refinancing their debt but failed this as well.  RUI is hopeful they can sell during their bankruptcy proceedings. 

Headquartered in Pioneer Square, RUI has about 50 employees at their corporate location and nearly 2,000 employees in their restaurants.