Major fried chicken franchisee shuts stores in bankruptcy filing

Economic headwinds person forced definite fried chickenhearted fast-food edifice franchisees to record for bankruptcy extortion and adjacent locations, contempt the sector's popularity.

Fried chickenhearted eating chains were the astir fashionable subsector of the fast-food manufacture successful 2025, arsenic postulation to chickenhearted concepts had risen 3% for the twelvemonth ending September 2025, portion each concepts dropped 1% compared to the erstwhile year, according to marketplace probe firm Circana, arsenic reported by Fast Company.

A apical Popeyes franchisee, however, didn't payment from the higher postulation inclination and was forced to record for bankruptcy protection.

Major Popeyes fried chickenhearted edifice franchisee Sailormen Inc. has filed a question to cull the unexpired leases of 3 much closed eating locations aft already filing to cull 17 closed locations successful Georgia and Florida.

Sailormen, which filed for Chapter 11 extortion connected Jan. 15, 2026, submitted a question connected March 10 to cull the unexpired leases of its Brunswick, Baxley, and Homerville, Ga., Popeyes locations, which it has closed.

The institution didn't uncover the fig of layoffs arsenic a effect of the closings.

The debtor had already filed a question successful the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida successful Miami to cull 17 leases, aft closing 8 locations connected Jan. 19, 5 locations connected Jan. 20, and 4 locations connected Jan. 22, according to tribunal papers.

Sailormen asserts that the leases should beryllium rejected arsenic of the petition date, since the restaurants were closed wrong 1 week of the petition day and earlier the proceeding connected the debtor’s first-day motions.

The Miami, Fla.-based wholly owned subsidiary of Interfoods of America Inc. believes that closing the 20 unprofitable locations volition trim the debtor’s selling, general, and administrative expenses by implicit $1 cardinal annually, according to tribunal papers.

The debtor is removing instrumentality and different idiosyncratic spot from the locations to beryllium reallocated oregon sold.

Facing accrued unit from its landlords, vendors, and secured lender, Sailormen connected March 13 filed a bidding and merchantability procedures question with the bankruptcy tribunal seeking a merchantability of its assets done a Section 363 auction.

Sailormen volition question a stalking-horse bidder to taxable an opening bid, with its secured creditor allowed to credit-bid the prepetition indebtedness owed to it.

The debtor filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy owed to important challenges implicit the past twelvemonth stemming from antagonistic macroeconomic conditions.