FAT Brands — the owner of multiple restaurant chains including Johnny Rockets, Fatburger and Twin Peaks — has filed for bankruptcy amid debt of more than $1 billion.
The franchiser filed for Chapter 11 on Monday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, according to Fox Business.
FAT operates 18 restaurant brands with more than 2,200 locations. The company said it expects its restaurants to remain open as usual during the bankruptcy proceedings.
Twin Peaks Hospitality Group, a subsidiary that was spun off last year to oversee the Twin Peaks sports bar chain, also filed for bankruptcy, according to a press release. The “mountain-lodge-themed Hooters” has 114 locations across the U.S. and Mexico.
The filings come just months after FAT Brands announced plans to expand Fatburger, despite its estimated $1.5 billion debt — much of which was incurred through acquisitions.
FAT’s other restaurant concepts include Fazoli’s, Great American Cookies, Hot Dog on a Stick, Ponderosa Steakhouse and more.
Industry-wide, customers have shied away from dine-in restaurants in recent years because of inflation and other economic uncertainty that have lead to many reducing their spending.
FAT specifically has seen fewer franchises open because of that same cost-consciousness, slowing the amount of revenue it receives from new locations opening and paying the parent company royalties and other fees.
“The Chapter 11 process will enable us to strengthen our balance sheet and create financial flexibility to advance this growth,” FAT Brands CEO Andrew Wiederhorn said in a statement.
