Fox and Hound Pub & Grille near Hamilton Place closes

The Fox and Hound Pub & Grille near Hamilton Place Mall closed Saturday, less than three weeks after its corporate owner filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization in Delaware.

Officials couldn't be reached for comment at the restaurant's parent corporation, Dallas, Texas-based Last Call, which also operates the chain restaurants Bailey's Sports Grille & Champps Kitchen + Bar.

But a bankruptcy court filing says the restaurant chain wasn't able to grow the business back after a previous bankruptcy filed in 2013.

A new menu "confused customers and alienated longtime patrons," said the chain's Chief Restructuring Officer Roy Messing, who also said a chain-wide rebranding and renovation effort was costly and didn't significantly increase business.

Changes in certain states' minimum wage laws and the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, increased labor costs and prompted the chain to convert nearly all of its employees to part-time, causing a number of them to leave, Messing said.

"Despite the overall recovery in the economy, the casual dining environment remains depressed," Messing testified in the court filing, citing a highly competitive industry and increased competition from fast casual options.

Read more in tomorrow's Times Free Press.

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