Construction on two of his projects, a Sonic drive-in and a TGI Friday’s in the Natomas area, shut down last year.įor some, the turmoil with Alizadeh’s finances came down to a quick lunch denied.Īt noon Friday, drivers rolled into the parking lot of the Jack in the Box restaurant on Arden Way, unaware of the small sign on the door explaining the closure.ĭetermined, Stacie Chao, 37, parked her car to go into the restaurant after she encountered a roadblock set up at the drive-through.Īfter seeing the sign, she reluctantly set her sights on another lunch. He is chairman of the National Association of Jack in the Box Franchisees, according to court papers.įissures in Alizadeh’s real-estate dealings showed up in 2008 as creditors began suing for nonpayment of real estate loans. Alizadeh was named Franchisee of the Year in 2006 by Jack in the Box corporate executives. That restaurant is not associated with the troubled company and is independently operated.Īlizadeh’s Jack in the Box restaurants were pulling in a reported $100 million annually by 2007. He opened Crush 29, an upscale restaurant in Roseville, to much fanfare in 2007. For several years, he stepped into the sports world as owner of a Triple A baseball team, the Portland Beavers. He had spun the quintessential American dream by amassing a business empire until financial woes began piling up in 2008.īeginning as an enterprising college student, he rose to fast-food tycoon and founder of a separate real estate company that at one time owned 3 million square feet of commercial property. The company has never experienced such a sudden, widespread shutdown, Luscomb said.Īlizadeh is an Iranian immigrant who came to the United States in 1977 as a teenager. Alizadeh is not the largest owner among the 90, although the typical franchisee owns 10 restaurants, he said. Eleven local Jack in the Boxes are either owned by the corporate parent or other franchisees.īut in some smaller cities, such as Galt and Woodland, the company’s only presence is Alizadeh’s restaurants.Īnother of Alizadeh’s companies, Kobra Properties Inc., a real estate development firm, has been in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection since November, staving off a $277 million debt.Īmong the largest creditors listed in court papers filed on Friday were an insurance company, utilities and the Jack in the Box corporation.Īlizadeh, who started with the chain as a college student making tacos, is one of 90 franchisees who own 42 percent of Jack in the Box’s 2,200 restaurants, Luscomb said. He is not the only Jack in the Box franchisee in Sacramento, however. The company had reached an impasse with creditors, which is why it sought protection in Chapter 11, the statement said, adding that the firm is talking to possible lenders.Īlizadeh’s restaurants are in virtually every town and city in Northern California. “We apologize to our customers and our employees for the disruption in service, deeply appreciate their patience and are eager to resume fulfilling our commitment to them.” “Our focus in the days ahead will be to return to normal business operations and to work cooperatively with our creditors to complete this process as quickly as possible,” Alizadeh said in a written statement. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of California.Īlizadeh, whose company owes $1.5 million in back state taxes and whose restaurant business has liens from the state against it, could not be reached for comment Friday. The restaurants just as abruptly reopened Friday afternoon, but under protection from creditors with a Chapter 11 petition filed in U.S. An already financially troubled Roseville real estate developer who owns 70 Jack in the Box restaurants from Fresno to Redding filed for bankruptcy protection Friday.Ībe Alizadeh of Kobra Associates Inc., who owns and operates the restaurants, signaled trouble on Thursday when he suddenly closed them all, including six in Sacramento, temporarily stranding as many as 2,100 employees.
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