Anthony's Coal-Fired Pizza & Wings and BurgerFi International, which owns the eponymous chain, joined the growing list of embattled restaurant operators filing for bankruptcy protection on Wednesday.
The Fort Lauderdale-based company's 67 corporate-owned locations have sought protection from creditors in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware, with assets of at least $50 million and liabilities of at least $100 million. The Wall Street Journal Reports.
The company said the bankruptcy proceeding only affects its BurgerFi and Anthony's Coal-Fired Pizza & Wings restaurants, which it owns, with 17 and 50 locations, respectively.
Chief Restructuring Officer Jeremy Rosenthal said in a press release that the company needed to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection because of “significant declines in consumer spending following the pandemic, amid continuing inflation and rising food and labor costs.” Citation The restaurant's closure follows other restaurants that have already closed this year, according to FOX Business.
Founded in 2011, BurgerFi went public in 2020 and began a major turnaround effort last year during a special purpose acquisition aimed at improving the business.
Chief Executive Officer Karl Bachmann also noted that “legacy challenges” “made today's filing necessary,” even though the company was seeing “positive early signs of a restructuring plan that we launched less than a year ago.”
BurgerFi, in its filing, estimates its assets at between $50 million and $100 million. Its liabilities are estimated at between $100 million and $500 million.
Other restaurant chains that have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this year include Roti, Buca di Beppo, Rubio's Coastal Grill, Red Lobster and Tijuana Flats.
