The chain had already closed 16 stores last year in an attempt to stay solvent.
"Despite the tremendous effort put forth by our employees and a number of corporate attempts to turn around the business, all of our restaurants are permanently closed for business," says a Knapp management official in a letter to customers on the chain's Web site. "These actions included drastically streamlining operations, attempting to sell the business and re-establishment of our traditional brand with improvements to decor and menu."
The official says the company couldn't make changes fast enough to become profitable. When it became clear that profits were elusive, and a buyer for the chain could not be found, the only option was immediate closure, the official says.
Knapp's, which opened its first store in the 1940s in Battle Creek and had stores as far as Florida, filed for bankruptcy early this year.
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