BurgerFi International files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection
The parent company of casual dining chain Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza & Wings and fast-casual "better burger" chain BurgerFi has filed for bankruptcy.
BurgerFi said that it is seeking to reorganize in order to “preserve the value of its brands for all stakeholders.” The Chapter 11 filing includes only the 67 corporate-owned locations of both brands, with franchisee-owned locations of BurgerFi and Anthony's excluded from the bankruptcy proceedings. The filing lists between $50 million and $100 million in assets and from $100 million to $500 million in estimated liabilities.
All 144 locations of the company’s two brands throughout the United States, Puerto Rico and Saudi Arabia (both corporate-owned and franchised) will continue normal, uninterrupted operations. As of Sept. 10, there were 51 Anthony's restaurants (50 corporate-owned casual restaurant locations and one dual-brand franchise location) and 93 BurgerFi restaurants (76 franchised and 17 corporate-owned).
"BurgerFi and Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza & Wings are dynamic and beloved brands, and in the face of a drastic decline in post-pandemic consumer spending amidst sustained inflation and increasing food and labor costs, we need to stabilize the business in a structured process," said Jeremy Rosenthal, chief restructuring officer of BurgerFi International. "We are confident that this process will allow us to protect and grow our brands and to continue the operational turnaround started less than 12 months ago and secure additional capital."
In July, the company appointed Carl Bachmann as CEO and Christopher E. Jones as CFO to turn around and strengthen the brands and operations. As part of the turnaround efforts, the company initiated a top-to-bottom evaluation of its operations, which is continuing.
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"Despite the early positive indicators of the turnaround plan initiated less than a year ago, the legacy challenges facing the business necessitated today's filing," said Bachmann. "We are grateful for the continued support of our loyal customers, vendors, business partners and our dedicated team members, who are the heart of the company."
Proposed advisors to the company are Raines Feldman Littrell LLP, Force Ten Partners, with Jeremy Rosenthal as the company's chief restructuring officer, and Sitrick And Company as strategic communications advisor.
