Latest news with #BrownBag
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Small Illinois town becomes the set of a John Goodman movie overnight
MONTICELLO, Ill. (WTVO) — Monticello, a small town near Champaign, became the set of a film called 'Chili Finger' overnight. John Goodman and Bryan Cranston, among many more celebrities, filmed inside a former Hardee's. The movie, based on a true story, follows the efforts of a woman who found a finger in her bowl of chili to leverage the situation for a payout. Goodman's likeness replaced the fast food chain's sign. Residents have been in a frenzy to get a look at some of the nation's most well-known celebrities. 'John Goodman and Sean Astin, and I can't remember who else was in it, but I was like, these are like legit stars,' said Monticello resident Andrew Bailey. 'It's so cool. I've seen tons of movies with them.' 'I looked up and I said, 'That woman in line looked so familiar,' and we waited for her to speak,' said Owner of the Brown Bag, Leslie Sims. Sims could not believe her eyes when she saw actress Judy Greer standing in front of her ordering a sandwich. Business owners around the area have cited an uptick in the local economy. 'The restaurants were full last night. The parking lot was full,' said Monticello resident Susan Chumbley. Film crews will be moving from Monticello to Paxton on Friday to shoot the next portion of the movie. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
RTÉ News
28-04-2025
- Business
- RTÉ News
Losses increase at Brown Bag Films as revenues almost halve to €30m
The owner of multi-award-winning Brown Bag Films recorded pre-tax losses of €4.6m last year as the business continued to be hit by the downturn in the animation content industry. New consolidated accounts filed by Scholastic Ireland Holdings Ltd show that the group's pre-tax losses of €4.62m were a 31% increase on the pre-tax losses of €3.5m in fiscal 2023. Pre-tax losses increased as revenues almost halved from €58.93m to €30.18m. However the revenues figures are skewed as the accounts are for a 10 month period to the end of May last year compared to a prior 12 month period. The group recorded losses of €3.17m and exceptional costs of €1.44m concerning redundancy costs and impairment resulted in the pre-tax loss of €4.6m. Numbers employed by the group reduced from 264 to 202 during the year as staff costs declined from €20m to €15m. On the exceptional €1.44m cost, the directors state that the cost "reflects changes in the industry which left the group with the unfortunate course of action to reduce its headcount". The directors state that in the prior year, a decision was announced to restructure operations by downsizing which the directors feel "will allow the group to achieve efficiencies and boost profitability over the long term". The accounts show that the group - which operates studios in Dublin, Toronto and Bali - paid out a dividend of €1.74m last year. The group did record a trading profit for the year after combined non-cash depreciation and amortisation costs of €8.9m are taken into account. The Brown Bag business - which celebrated its 30th year in business last year - was founded in Dublin in 1994 by Cathal Gaffney and Darragh O'Connell. Brown Bag Films was acquired by Canadian based 9 Story Media Group in 2015. 9 Story Media was purchased by the US based Scholastic for $185m in March of last year. In an interview on RTE Radio One's The Business in March 2024, Mr Gaffney spoke about the downturn in the industry. "The market has softened quite a bit. For the last 10 years all the streamers, Apple, Netflix, Prime were all commissioning tonnes and tonnes of children's animation," he said. "Now that has pulled quite a bit - they are cutting both costs and content that they produce. It is a tricky time globally, but it will bounce back, it always does. We are somewhat insulated in the work that we do is in both service and IP (Intellectual Property) work. It is not as busy as it was," he added. Some of the the studio's global hit TV shows include Doc McStuffins, Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, Henry Hugglemonster, Bing, Peg + Cat, Peter Rabbit, Wild Kratts, Olivia, Noddy in Toyland, The Magic School Bus: Rides Again, and Octonauts. On the risks and uncertainties facing the business, the directors state that "rapidly changing technology and platforms are altering the broadcasting landscape and existing business models and driving growth in direct-to-consumer and digital markets". They state that "the group believes it has sufficient experience to meet these risks while delivering profitable revenue growth". The pre-tax losses for last year also take account of interest payments of €492,410. Directors' pay reduced from €842,107 to €631,950. Shareholder funds at the end of May last year totalled €48.53m, which included accumulated profits of €8.9m. Cash funds increased from €8.04m to €11.46m.
Business Journals
21-04-2025
- Business
- Business Journals
Brown Bag Seafood closes two Charlotte restaurants
By submitting your information you are agreeing to our Privacy Policy and User Agreement . Brown Bag Seafood has trimmed its Charlotte-area restaurant portfolio after making a big entrance into the market just a few years ago. Brown Bag Seafood has trimmed its Charlotte restaurant portfolio, shuttering a second location here in less than two months. The Chicago-based, fast-casual seafood chain closed its restaurant at Birkdale Village in Huntersville on April 15. It had been open less than three years. Another location at the Lowe's Tech Hub in South End closed in February, says Zach Flanzman, president and chief operating officer. GET TO KNOW YOUR CITY Find Local Events Near You Connect with a community of local professionals. Explore All Events 'We just weren't where we needed to be. At some level, you just can't make the bottom line if the top line is not where it needs to be,' he says. The brand cracked into the Charlotte market in 2022, opening three restaurants in a six-month span. Flanzman says Brown Bag will continue to operate its remaining uptown uptown, which has been open a little over two years. That restaurant is at the Ally Charlotte Center at 601 S. Tryon St. 'We have no plans to exit Charlotte fully. We still feel very confident there's no one else doing what we're doing in the market,' he says. 'We think the concept has every reason to be successful there — we just have to be smarter with our future real estate decisions.' That 2,756-square-foot uptown restaurant leans into Brown Bag's strength as a brand. In its DNA it's a downtown-based lunch concept, relying on the office crowd to drive traffic. 'Uptown is such a clone of where we really feel like we offer the best value and feel most comfortable as a brand,' Flanzman says. He says the Brown Bag brand is versatile and poised to compete well with the lunch and dinner crowds, but location is key. In South End, office traffic didn't materialize as expected to drive sales. At Birkdale, efforts to be family oriented fell flat. 'In short, we got ourselves, I think, into some real estate we thought we were comfortable with and turns out it wasn't our best choices,' Flanzman says. He says the brand expects to grow in Charlotte; it will move cautiously when it comes to choosing future restaurant sites. 'We're still opportunistic about real estate opportunities. If there was something that hit my inbox tomorrow, it's possible. Right now, the name of the game is making the right choices and doing it in the right way.' Brown Bag Seafood got its start in Chicago in 2014. The chain is known for its quick, fresh and sustainably sourced seafood. Its restaurants serve the same high-quality seafood found at a white-tablecloth restaurant — just in a quick-service setting. It has grown to 12 locations in Chicago, Atlanta and the Charlotte market.
