Bennigan's

Bennigan's brought the Irish-American pub theme to the casual-dining boom, with brass-and-stained-glass decor, the Monte Cristo sandwich, and a clubby bar scene that made it a fixture of 1980s and '90s suburbia. Part of the same restaurant empire as Steak and Ale, it overexpanded and struggled as casual dining crowded. In July 2008 its corporate parent filed for bankruptcy and shuttered company-owned Bennigan's overnight, leaving only scattered franchises.