Robert Thompson, founder of the 20-location “eatertainment” chain Punch Bowl Social, is looking for a new business partner after Cracker Barrel Restaurants stopped its investment amid coronavirus-caused closures.
Punch Bowl has laid off 2,300 employees, according to the Denver Business Journal, and only 39 people remain on the payroll – one at each of the locations and 19 at its corporate office, trying to plot a future for the business. Thompson told Denver Business Journal that he is “100 percent sure” that a partner is out there, and that Punch Bowl will reopen, even if not right when coronavirus restrictions lift.
The chain just opened its newest location in Miami in February and had four more new stores planned this year, including a location in Phoenix where construction was nearly completed before operations temporarily ceased.
