The parent company of Bravo! Italian Kitchen and Brio Italian Grille have filed for Chapter 11, the restaurant chains’ second bankruptcy in just more than five years.
Bravo Brio Restaurants LLC, which includes 25 Brio Italian Grille restaurants and 23 Bravo Italian Kitchen restaurants, had closed seven restaurants before filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida on Aug. 18. The company cited “the acute financial distress” across the restaurant industry, which has led to recent bankruptcy filings by Red Lobster, Tijuana Flats, TGI Fridays and Hooters, it states in the filing.
Earl Enterprises, which also owns Planet Hollywood, Bertucci’s and other restaurants, acquired the restaurants in June 2020 from FoodFirst Global Restaurants, which had filed for bankruptcy two months earlier.
Through the bankruptcy proceedings, Bravo Brio Restaurants seeks “to improve its financial position as it brings on a new investor,” the company said in a news release. “The Chapter 11 process will allow the Company to quickly and efficiently reorganize its business for a sustainable and successful future, including closing underperforming locations, restructuring debt, and streamlining and reducing operational expenses.”
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Will Brio locations close following bankruptcy filing?
A spokesperson told Today.com there are no current plans to close any locations. The company did not respond to USA TODAY’s questions about any immediate closings.
Locations in Virginia and Missouri were closed earlier in the year, according to local news reports. A Brio restaurant in Beavercreek, Ohio, closed the same day as the filing, according to WHIO. Another location in Delaware closed concurrently with the bankruptcy filing, reported Delaware Online, part of the USA TODAY Network.
The company listed assets of $50 million to $100 million, including furniture, restaurant equipment and inventory valued at about $25 million. Liabilities of more than $50 million include wages of $900,000 currently owed to employees and $1.9 million owed to food provider Sysco, according to the filing.
“The Debtors have worked diligently to weather the storm, but earnings and cash flow remain strained by several above-market leases and underperforming locations,” the filing reads.
Current restaurants will continue operating during the bankruptcy process, the company said.
Mike Snider is a national trending news reporter for USA TODAY. You can follow him on Threads, Bluesky, X and email him at mikegsnider & @mikegsnider.bsky.social & @mikesnider & msnider@usatoday.com
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Italian restaurant chain files for bankruptcy a second time
