David Giesen, an entrepreneur who built Steak Escape and Johnny Rockets restaurants in Denver, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Greenwood Village-based Rocket Restaurant Ventures LLC, which also operates as Giesen Restaurant Enterprises LLC, filed for restructuring bankruptcy on Dec. 15 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Denver. The company estimated its assets at less than $100,000, but said in court documents that it had liabilities of $1 million to $10 million.
David and Jennifer Giesen also filed a separate Chapter 11 petition on the same day, listing both assets and liabilities of $1 million to $10 million.
In 2000, Giesen formed a joint venture with Charlie Monfort, part owner of the Colorado Rockies baseball team and member of the Monfort meat-packing family, to open roughly 100 Steak Escape restaurants in Colorado and California over a 10-year period. At the time, Giesen owned a half-dozen Steak Escapes in metro Denver, including a location at the Denver International Airport.
But in 2003, Giesen Restaurant Enterprises closed roughly a dozen Steak Escapes nationwide, including several in Colorado, according to news reports.
Giesen also has opened Johnny Rockets restaurants in metro Denver, including locations on the 16th Street Mall in downtown Denver and inside the Cherry Creek Shopping Center.
The bankruptcy petition didn’t specify which restaurants Giesen and Rocket Restaurant Ventures currently own, if any.