The Arby’s restaurants in Southern Maryland have closed according to signs posted at the various locations. The signs indicate the possibility of reopening.
The local Arby’s are franchise operations owned by KBK Inc. of Charlotte Hall. The company was established in 1993. According to the company’s website, www.arbyskbk.com, “Due to financial difficulties brought on by the economy we have been forced to close our stores by the Arby’s Restaurant Group. After many attempts to negotiate with them they finally decided Friday that it was better to close our 10 locations than to allow us to continue to make progress on securing long-term solutions.
Arby’s has more than 3,600 restaurants and is owned by Roark Capital Group (81.5) percent and Wendy’s Company (18.5 percent). They are headquartered in Sandy Springs, GA. Attempts to contact the franchisor have been unsuccessful and the phone number at the Charlotte Hall office of KBK Inc. is not in service.
The KBK website, which is incorrectly identified in the signs posted at the Arby’s locations, addresses the possibility of reopening by saying: “At this point negotiations continue with all interested parties and once those negotiations are concluded we will be better able to answer this question specifically. Check back to the web site for further notices.
The website lists nine franchise locations for KBK, although they say they have ten in the stated reason for closing on the same website. Those locations listed on the website are: Lexington Park, Charlotte Hall, La Plata, Prince Frederick, Leonardtown, Dunkirk, Dahlgren, VA, Waldorf and Allentown.
The website explanations were posted on Christmas Eve. According to the notices at the store locations, updates will be posted on the website.
The website says employees will be paid on their regular pay dates by direct deposit or pay card updates. It also notes: “Where possible employees with vacation will also receive those hours of compensation.” It says they are eligible to file for unemployment.
Employees can file for COBRA to continue their health insurance, which will be discontinued by the company with their last pay check.
According to the Fredericksburg, VA Free-Lance Star, a franchisee in that city is interested in purchasing Dahlgren franchise should it become available.
