Eatery to Change as Part of Vicorp Restaurant Buy-Out

SAN DIEGO — Vicorp Specialty Restaurants, in the midst of a leveraged buy-out by its Denver-based parent, will close its Piret’s eatery in downtown San Diego in January and reopen it two weeks later as the Boathouse.

The new diner, in the Imperial Bank building, will be Vicorp’s fifth Boathouse in San Diego County.

Vicorp officials could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

The action follows a week of activity at Vicorp Specialty Restaurants. On Friday, Vicorp said it had closed its Piret’s store in Grossmont Center and that it may close its La Jolla Village Square outlet in the future.

And one week ago, Piret’s closed its commissary in Rose Canyon.

The changes are part of a cost-cutting that typically parallels leveraged buy-outs, whereby the purchasers pay for the company by borrowing against its assets.

Included in the investor group are Vicorp Chairman Gordon Miles, who will resign his post, Vicorp Specialty Restaurants President Tom Doan, and the investment banking firm of Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette.

The buy-out is expected to be completed next week.

The 40 employees at the downtown Piret’s will be given “first choice” for jobs at the Boathouse, according to one company source.

Piret’s will close for two weeks in early January, during which the restaurant will be remodeled and the kitchen, bar and take-out section expanded.

The reopened Boathouse will be more upscale than the other Boathouse sites in Pacific Beach, Encinitas, Grossmont Center and Harbor Island, but more moderately priced than the trendy Piret’s, said one Vicorp source.