Bankrupt Local Heroes location closes

Creditors reject plan for Bank Street bar, leaving only two in chain

The Local Heroes Sports Bar & Grill at 1525 Bank St. has closed its doors after being placed under creditor protection.

The sports bar has been battling with creditors since March. A proposed plan to help it climb out of financial trouble was rejected by creditors last week.

As many as 30 employees have been let go and a bankruptcy trustee, Ginsberg Gingras and Associates Inc., has been called in.

Two remaining Local Heroes on Clyde Avenue and Robertson Road remain open. The bars are independently owned.

The Local Heroes sports bar was founded by former Ottawa Rough Rider Mark Kosmos in 1981. It was among the first in the nation’s capital to sell chicken wings by the pound and quickly expanded with locations across the city.

However, as competition from brew pubs and other sports bars increased, Local Heroes has had to shutter a number of its locations, including one on St. Laurent Boulevard and another in Stittsville.

A spokesman for the bankruptcy trustee said assets at the Bank Street location will be sold at auction in hopes of recouping some of the money owed to creditors.

The trustee said employees are owed at least one week’s pay as well as vacation pay and severance. The affected employees are encouraged to apply under the federal government’s new Wage Earner Protection Plan, which will put them at the front of the line for any payments made by the bankrupt entity. Employees are eligible to receive as much as $3,646 each under the government program.