NEW YORK -- A national restaurant group's bankruptcy announcement this week could have a ripple effect in Indianapolis.

S&A Restaurant Corp. -- the parent company of the Bennigan's and Steak & Ale chains -- filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection Tuesday.

S&A is seeking to liquidate its assets and stop operations -- a step usually taken in only the most dire financial circumstances, experts said. S&A is owned by Metromedia Restaurant Group of Plano, Texas, a part of billionaire John Kluge's empire.

Locations owned by franchisees were not part of the bankruptcy filing and will not be shut down, the president of the Bennigan's Franchise Operator Association said. He said there are about 160 domestic and international franchise locations and about 150 company-owned Bennigan's restaurants.

There are two Metromedia-owned restaurants in the Indianapolis area -- a Bennigan's at 7701 E. 42nd St. and a Steak & Ale at 4302 S. East St., according to the company's Web site.

Neither Bennigan's nor the Metromedia Restaurant Group returned calls for comment.