SEPTEMBER 2, 2024
Quantum computing isn’t a far-off dream.
It’s now.
The game-changing technology is still more promise than reality, but that hasn’t stopped some firms from rushing to use it
I
By John Pletz
llinois wants to win the quantum computing race, so much so that it’s putting up a half-billion dollars in a bid to make Chicago a world capital of this next-generation technology. “Quantum has the potential to revolutionize the world as we know it,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker said at a recent quantum summit in Chicago. Tech giants and startups alike are racing to build machines large enough to deliver on that promise, including PsiQuantum, which plans to build the world’s largest quantum computer on the former U.S. Steel South Works site on Chicago’s Far South Side. But companies already are experimenting with quantum computing,
PSIQUANTUM
See QUANTUM on Page 17
How Roti went bankrupt By Jack Grieve
Regulars at the Mediterranean fast-casual restaurant Rōti may have been surprised to learn the Chicago-based chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Aug. 23. The company experienced rapid growth over much of the last two decades, and despite closing some locations during the COVID pandemic, its downtown restaurants still have drawn lunch lines out the doors. Behind the scenes, though, the business has been in hot water for
years and is now approaching a boiling point. In the Chapter 11 filing, Rōti CEO Justin Seamonds laid out how he thinks the company got to this point and what he sees as the future for the struggling chain. According to Seamonds’ written declaration, Rōti faced many of the same challenges brought on by the pandemic that rattled the hospitality industry writ large. They had to reimagine how they packaged food, adapt to online ordering and navigate new safety measures. Rōti ultimately closed 16 of its 42 restaurants between
March 2020 and early 2023. At the same time, Rōti pulled a lifeline to allow its remaining 26 locations to survive the initial pandemic punches: The company negotiated rent deferral agreements with its landlords. Those deferral agreements are now expiring — and Rōti appears unable to pay up. As Seamonds wrote in the court filings, the expired deferrals are “leading to a significant increase in operational expenses which have been See ROTI on Page 16 The Chicago-based chain operates 10 Illinois restaurants, including this one at 80 E. Lake St.
VOL. 47, NO. 34 l COPYRIGHT 2024 CRAIN COMMUNICATIONS INC. l ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
DAN MCGRATH The Bears’ stadium dreams rest on the shoulders of new QB Caleb Williams
AVIATION The state’s vision for a Peotone airport includes some surprises.
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ROB GARCIA
The Mediterranean fast-casual chain grabbed a lifeline in order to make it through the COVID-19 pandemic. Now it’s backfiring.