In April 2020, Apex filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the first notable OC firm to do so amid the pandemic.
What many expected to be the first of many such filings didn’t turn out as expected, at least for now.
Chapter 11 bankruptcies in OC were down marginally year-over-year, and total bankruptcies here were down some 40% as well, according to local reports. The closure of the federal court system at the onset of the pandemic likely played a part in a portion of the lowered figures.
For Boomers, and hopefully for other area theme parks gearing up to reopen in April with lower capacity, the downtime of 2020 allowed for reinvention, and prep work.
Boomers is now owned by Irvine’s APX Operating Co. LLC, which bought the company’s assets during the BK proceedings, and is currently run by CEO Tim Murphy, an industry veteran with over 30 years of experience in the entertainment and hospitality sectors.
The company said it has installed numerous safety protocols, with the expectation of opening its parks at 25% to 50% capacity, depending on requirements in individual states.
Along with kids’ fare, the parks are adding “Boomers Backyards” to several locations, for “guests to enjoy adult beverages in a relaxed setting complete with fire pits, heat lamps and flat-screen TVs.”
California Pizza Kitchen, currently based in Playa Vista, was another Chapter 11 filer last year in Texas’ court system.
After emerging from bankruptcy protection in November, one of the company’s first big moves was to find a new home—last week’s Business Journal was first to report that the chain, with 195 locations to its name, had inked a deal for a future HQ in Costa Mesa.
Putting the firm close to many of its restaurants—it counts 10 locations in OC—was one reason for the move, CEO Jim Hyatt said. And putting it in the country’s biggest hub of corporate talent for the restaurant industry can’t hurt either.
Another potential benefit as CPK looks to go into growth mode again: proximity to what was once one of its largest restaurant builders.
Bob Olson—our 2019 Businessperson of the Year—built 55 CPKs before turning his attention to hotel construction and development (primarily Marriotts, but several Hyatts too) as founder of Newport Beach’s R.D. Olson Development, notes a profile in Forbes this month.
Chef Amar Santana—along with Vaca Group business partner Ahmed Labbate named our 2020 Restaurateurs of the Year a year ago—didn’t have the easiest go of it after getting that honor, thanks to pandemic-related restaurant closures.
He put the downtime to good (promotional) use; Santana is a guest judge and dining panelist for the upcoming season of Bravo’s Top Chef culinary reality series. He was the runner-up in Season 13 of that show.
Season 18, filmed in Portland last September and October, kicks off on April 1.
