Bugaboo Creek Steakhouse

Bugaboo Creek Steakhouse

Company type	Wholly owned subsidiary
Industry	Restaurants
Genre	Casual dining
Founded	March 1996 (1996-03)
Defunct	June 2016 (2016-06)
Fate	Bankruptcy
Headquarters	Millburn, New Jersey , U.S.
Number of locations	0
Area served	United States, Canada, Australia, Caribbean, Singapore, Malaysia, Brazil, China, Chile, Costa Rica, Guam, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Philippines, Ecuador
Products	Canadian themed American cuisine
Revenue	US$ 3.888 billion (2017)
Parent	Praesidian Capital

Bugaboo Creek Steakhouse was a Canadian-themed American casual dining restaurant chain, serving American cuisine, based in Millburn, New Jersey. The restaurant first opened in March 1996. Up until the mid 2010s, it was known for several novel animatronics based on the wildlife of Canada. Animatronics of bulls, buffaloes, or moose trophy head mounts would greet guests and provide entertainment. Other novelty characters such as Timber, The Talking Christmas Tree, would be programmed to tell customers about Canadian history and natural attractions.

Menu

The menu offered classic steakhouse offerings. Some menu items included steak, burgers, salads, desserts, appetizers, breakfast food (mornings only), seafood, sandwiches, pasta, and other bar food.

Bankruptcy and closure

In November 2010, Praesidian Capital announced that it is filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and closed most of its Massachusetts locations. At the time of the announcement, the company had 12 restaurants still in operation after closing 18 restaurants the previous week. Following the bankruptcy, the chain began moving away from the talking animals, shutting down their animatronics while still leaving them up on the walls. On June 29, 2016, the chain completely closed its doors worldwide.

Animatronics

From the time of the chain's opening until the bankruptcy, Bugaboo Creek was known for it's novelty animatronics. Among the real mounts of bucks, deer and bears, several recreated mounts would be fitted with robotics to talk and move. Depending on the location, moose or bull mounts would be near the dining tables, whereas a constant Bill the Buffalo would watch over the customers coming into the front lobby. The characters would break the fourth wall, sardonically referencing their status as perpetually trapped robots, hanging above the guests, who were happily enjoying their meals. Local restaurants would name these animatronics, such as Moxie the Moose or Goose the Moose. Classic talking fish were included alongside raccoons or weasels who would pop out of wooden barrels. After each restaurant closed, the non-robotic mounts were sold at local auctions, yet the locations of the talking moose and buffaloes are unknown, theorized to have found other homes in other game themed restaurants.