At least 300 restaurants will close and thousands of employees laid off.
In a Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing, a company seeks to liquidate its assets and shut down.
Neither Bennigan's nor the Metromedia Restaurant Group returned calls for comment.
Restaurants have been struggling amid high gas prices, the weak housing market and inflation. Hardest hit have been casual dining chains and bar and grill restaurants, which charge higher prices than fast food and other quick-service chains.
On the Net: http://www.bennigans.com (Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) AP-NY-07-29-08 1511EDT
