US restaurant chain BurgerFi has become the latest to file for bankruptcy after seeking Chapter 11 protection at a Delaware court this week.
The company, which also owns Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza, has 144 locations around the country, however only the 67 company-owned locations fall under bankruptcy proceedings.
Company-owned locations will continue to operate as normal, as will the remainder of the locations, which are franchisee-owned.
“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.
“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.”
The news comes as the company recently warned that it was struggling financially back in August.
CNN reported that the company had just $4.4 million on hand as of August 14 while expecting to report a loss of $18.4 million for the quarter ending July 1 this year.
Comparatively, for the same quarter in 2023, the chain only reported a loss of $6 million.
According to this week’s bankruptcy filing, it had between $100 million and $500 million in liabilities but only between $50 million and $100 million in assets.
The chain, which has most of its restaurants in New York, Florida, Maryland, North Carolina and Indiana, becomes the latest to file for bankruptcy this year – it follows Red Lobster and Buca di Beppo, among others, struggling in the industry.
