Two Excalibur restaurants to remain closed

Both the American Burger Works and Lynyrd Skynyrd BBQ & Beer will remain closed after their Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings, but landlord Excalibur could face damages for shutting them down.

At a Thursday hearing, U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Linda Riegle ruled they would stay closed, but allowed owners of the side-by-side restaurants to enter the premises to recover personal items and perishable food. In addition, she prohibited Excalibur, the MGM Resorts International Strip property, from leasing the property to someone else until the legal issues are sorted out.

Both restaurants, separately incorporated but commonly owned, filed Chapter 11 on Wednesday.

The dispute focuses on whether Excalibur properly terminated the leases, two years into 10-year terms. Excalibur attorney Todd Bice said the resort did, having delivered notices of default earlier this year when contractors filed $1.1 million in liens for unpaid work. He said Excalibur paid them off to remove the liens.

On Wednesday morning, Excalibur erected walls in front of the restaurants, effectively shutting them down.

Samuel Schwartz, the restaurants' attorney, said the lease had been improperly terminated due to a lack of advance notice and five days to allow the owners to fix the default.

In her first glance at the case, Riegle said it did not appear likely the restaurants would win. But if they did, she added, "I'm going to hit (Excalibur) big with damages," including an assessment for lost profits.

Riegle called it "offensive" that Excalibur had put up the wall during Yom Kippur; both Schwartz and the owners are Jewish. Bice said it was unintentional.

Contact reporter Tim O'Reiley at
toreiley@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5290.