Restaurant Chain Cuts Jobs, Shakes up Brass

ORANGE COUNTY, CA-Financially ailing Prandium Inc., whose popular Koo Koo Roo and Chi-Chi’s restaurants can be found in dozens of shopping centers and malls across the United States, says it will eliminate about 40 more jobs as part of its ongoing cost-cutting efforts. The company’s chairman will also take on the additional job of president of the Koo Koo Roo division.

Last month, Prandium announced plans to seek a buyer for its chain of 14 mid-price Hamburger Hamlet restaurants in Southern California and Washington, D.C. Though the Hamburger Hamlet chain is doing well and its performance justifies expansion, Prandium said in a statement that the parent company “does not have the resources at this time” to fund the burger chain’s growth.

About half of the 40 jobs Prandium plans to eliminate are at the company’s Irvine headquarters. Most of the others will come at its Chi-Chi’s subsidiary office in Louisville, KY.