Family Restaurants Pays Down Debt

Irvine-based Family Restaurants Inc., which operates the Chi-Chi’s, El Torito, Casa Gallardo and Charley Brown’s chains, has paid down $260 million in debt by swapping bonds associated with its recent sale of the Coco’s and Carrows chains.

Family Restaurants repurchased $260 million of its senior notes in exchange for the proceeds from the sale of $133.5 million in notes associated with the sale of Coco’s and Carrows to Flagstar Companies Inc., a Spartanburg, S.C.-based restaurant chain operator.

Greg Johnson covers retail businesses and restaurants for The Times. He can be reached at (714) 966-5950 and at greg.johnson@latimes.com.