Cafe Santa Fe Closes

In mid-December, CSF Franchise Group closed its Cafe Santa Fe restaurant at 1860 N. Crossover Road in Fayetteville.

A note on the door stated: “Cafe Santa Fe closed. Will reopen under new logo soon. Thank you for your patience.”

We were unable to reach Tom Flores, president of CSF, for a comment.

CSF Franchise Group of Fayetteville filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Oct. 7. The court filing listed debts of $1 million-$10 million and assets of $500,000-$1 million.

The company owns Cafe Santa Fe, a chain of six Tex-Mex restaurants.

Three days before CSF filed for bankruptcy, the two primary owners of the company each filed for bankruptcy as individuals, citing debts of $1 million-$10 million each and assets of less than $50,000. Flores owns 59 percent of the company. Emad Damen, who also goes by the name Ed Damen, owns 32 percent.

“It’s reorganization, and we’re not closing down,” Flores said in October. “We’re trying to work through the debts we have from franchisees who left us hanging. We’re just trying to turn this around. This is the best way we can do it.”

CSF had sales of about $6 million last year, down from $9 million the year before, when the company had an additional six restaurants in operation. In 2000, CSF had 16 restaurants open with plans for another 40.

Based on information from employees at Cafe Santa Fe restaurants, CSF currently has six restaurants, one in each of the following Arkansas cities: Springdale, Fayetteville, Bentonville, Eureka Springs, Benton and Rogers.