Irish sandwich chain faces liquidation

       O'Brien's Sandwich Bars, a major success story of Ireland's dead Celtic Tiger economy, was handed over to liquidators on Wednesday after a judge declined to set aside the chain's expensive Dublin leases on more than 80 franchises.
       Dublin-born O'Brien's was Ireland's answer to Starbucks. It spread across much of the globe over the past decade of unprecedented Irish ambition, reaching more than a dozen countries, including Australia, China, India, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia.
       But like many pub and restaurant groups in Ireland, O'Brien's has struggled with crippling debts ever since the economy plummeted into deep recession over the past year. The company's British unit sought protection from creditors in June, followed a month later by its Irish parent, which employs 800.
       O'Brien's founder, Brody Sweeney,had hoped to sell his business to an investor group led by Graeme Beere,owner of several rival fast-food chains in Ireland, including Abrekebabra and Gourmet Burger. But Beere's consortium had insisted that O'Brien's transfer ownership of its property leases over to franchise operators, who objected that they couldn't afford them either.
       Beere withdrew his offer on Tuesday after a Dublin High Court judge, John MacMenamin, ruled that he couldn't set aside the leases.
       It's only the latest in a series of spectacular implosions for top Dublin restaurateurs and publicans, who are struggling to make debt payments following rapid Celtic Tiger expansions on cheap credit that's evaporated. Other recent casualties are the Thomas Read Group,which owned more than a dozen of Dublin's most popular and architecturally impressive pubs, and Michelin-starred restaurants, Mint.