Copyright The Philadelphia Inquirer
Jeff Crivello, the former CEO of Famous Dave’s BBQ, said he intends to reopen 10 shuttered Iron Hill Brewery locations, including in Center City and West Chester. The restaurants could be reopened as Iron Hills or as other brands, Crivello said Wednesday in an interview. Crivello’s offer, which included a $12 million credit bid, was approved Wednesday by Judge Jerrold N. Poslusny Jr. in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New Jersey, according to court documents. Pending negotiations with the landlords, Crivello is set to take over the closed restaurants in Center City, Huntingdon Valley, Newtown, West Chester, Wilmington, Lancaster, Hershey, and Rehoboth Beach, as well as two locations in South Carolina. The ruling came more than a month after Iron Hill abruptly closed all locations and filed for liquidation bankruptcy, saying it owed creditors $20 million. The local brewery and restaurant chain had been a mainstay in the suburbs for nearly 30 years and recently expanded into Philadelphia and down South. The sudden closures left massive holes in shopping centers and walkable downtowns. Across the Philadelphia suburbs, business owners, residents, and other stakeholders wondered what might fill those voids. » READ MORE: Shuttered Iron Hill breweries sit empty across the Philly area. What will become of them? On Wednesday, Crivello, CEO of Ciao Hospitality, said he plans to reopen the former Iron Hill in Rehoboth Beach — as well as the locations in Columbia and Greenville, S.C. — as outposts of Three Notch’d Brewing Co., which currently has six locations across Virginia. Plans for his other seven Iron Hills were not finalized Wednesday, and negotiations with landlords are ongoing. Crivello is credited with turning around Famous Dave’s during his tenure as CEO. In recent years, Crivello and his companies have bought up other chains, including Minnesota-based Cowboy Jack’s and California-based Rubio’s, which was also amid bankruptcy proceedings. Crivello said his Iron Hill acquisitions would mark his first foray into the Philadelphia area. “We’ve always liked the East Coast restaurant demographic,” Crivello said. “It’s a great market for our restaurants.” The Iron Hill Brewery locations not purchased by Crivello are set to be auctioned off in early December.
