1
                                                                      EXHIBIT 99



                     [VICORP RESTAURANTS, INC. LETTERHEAD]



For Immediate Release


                            VICORP RESTAURANTS, INC.
                          ANNOUNCES APPROVAL OF MERGER


         Denver, Colo., May 2, 2001 - VICORP Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRES)
announced today that its shareholders at a special meeting of shareholders held
today approved the merger of VICORP with a subsidiary of Midway Investors
Holdings, Inc., an affiliate of BancBoston Capital, Inc., and Goldner Hawn
Johnson & Morrison, Incorporated. Under the terms of the merger agreement,
VICORP's shareholders will receive $25.65 in cash for each share of common
stock. Completion of the merger is subject to various conditions, including the
funding of committed financing. The merger is currently expected to be completed
by mid-May.

         VICORP operates and franchises approximately 374 mid-scale family-type
restaurants, principally under the names Bakers Square and Village Inn, with
concentrations in the Rocky Mountain region, upper Midwest, California, Arizona
and Florida.