100-year-old sandwich chain closes locations, no bankruptcy

The fast-food sandwich assemblage has battled economical issues implicit the past year, starring franchisees to adjacent locations and, successful immoderate cases, record for bankruptcy protection.

Rising costs of labour and products driven by ostentation and accrued tariffs are among the economical issues sandwich chains person faced.

Tariffs successful 2025 accrued the costs of indispensable sandwich store products, specified arsenic imported cheeses, olive oil, seafood, and aluminum canned beverages, according to information supplier IBISWorld.

Wholesale nutrient costs accrued 5% year-over-year, according to the National Restaurant Association, amplified by the fiscal strain from rising tariffs, IBISWorld said.

Restaurants person passed those higher costs connected to consumers done higher prices oregon smaller portions.

A definite sandwich concatenation franchisee ran into fiscal and ineligible issues past twelvemonth that resulted successful terrible consequences, including bankruptcy.

Former Panera Bread franchisee EYM Cafe of Texas LLC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection connected Aug. 2, 2025, aft losing power of its 15 Houston-area Panera franchises successful a tribunal judgment.

Panera LLC connected May 23, 2025, filed a suit against EYM Cafe of Texas successful the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri for unauthorized cognition of respective Panera locations successful Texas and unapproved usage of its trademarks.

Panera had terminated EYM Cafe’s franchise agreements successful March and May 2025 owed to outgo defaults, nutrient information violations, and marque modular breaches, according to Law.com.

A national justice ruled successful favour of Panera connected June 17, 2025, issuing a imperishable injunction and ordering EYM Cafe of Texas to halt operating nether the Panera brand, QSR reported.

In immoderate cases, a concern faces issues with its lease and landlord, forcing it to unopen down a location. That's what forced 1 longtime sandwich concatenation to adjacent 1 of its shops.

Iconic Northern California fast-food sandwich concatenation Genova Delicatessen has 1 remaining determination unfastened aft closing down 2 shops successful Walnut Creek, Calif.

The delicatessen concatenation closed its determination astatine 1105 S. California Blvd. successful Walnut Creek connected Feb. 18, 3 months aft closing its 2064 Treat Blvd. location, besides successful Walnut Creek, SFGate reported. The concatenation has not filed for bankruptcy.

The deli chain, which was founded successful Oakland, Calif., successful 1926, had operated successful Walnut Creek for 58 years, according to The Mercury News. It closed the Oakland determination successful 2016. The Treat Boulevard determination reportedly closed Nov. 15, 2025.