Bill Knapp's - Downfall

Downfall

This overhaul of the chain's demographics, however, proved unsuccessful. Loyal diners felt alienated by the changes made; abandonment of Mr. Knapp's "from-scratch" philosophy drove these loyal customers away for good. Furthermore, the campaign failed to recruit the younger family crowd, resulting in further erosion of the chain's customer base.

Another reason for the shift away from the made from-scratch philosophy was a Listeria outbreak in the early 1990s. As the restaurant struggled to recover from the negative publicity, many new, updated food safety standards were initiated. Some food preparation that was taking place in the restaurants had be to moved back to the commissaries, to be monitored more closely. This was not as cost-effective, as more foods needed to be processed and frozen to ensure safety. As commissary costs continued to rise, more of Bill Knapp's signature foods had to be outsourced to larger processing facilities.

By 2000 the commissaries were becoming little more than distribution centers. Fresh, handmade hamburger patties were replaced by frozen, eggs by a powdered substitute, and even the marinated chicken breasts were coming in frozen packages. (Raw chicken breasts used to be marinated overnight in the restaurants.) While the organization elevated food safety standards to the highest, higher costs combined with lower quality to lead the chain to its ultimate downfall.

In 2001 Bill Knapp's tried to reverse course by announcing that "The Tradition is Back," restoring the original menu and some original décor, but by then it was too late. By 2002, the chain's last restaurant had closed.