Popular fried chicken chain franchisee closes 39 locations

The popularity of the fried chickenhearted eating assemblage is not capable to forestall restaurants from filing for bankruptcy extortion and going retired of concern if antagonistic economical factors prevail.

The rising outgo of doing concern and unsustainable indebtedness are often cited arsenic the apical reasons for restaurants' fiscal distress, forcing them to adjacent businesses.

Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen franchisee Sailormen Inc., which operated 136 fried chickenhearted locations erstwhile it filed for bankruptcy successful January 2026, has rejected 22 leases of locations that it could not merchantability and volition permanently adjacent them.

Sailormen disposes of each locations

Sailormen volition divest each of its Popeyes businesses aft selling 97 of its restaurants to 5 buyers and closing the remaining 39 locations that it could not sell.

The debtor had won support successful the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida successful Miami to cull 18 edifice leases, consisting of 15 locations successful Florida and 3 successful Georgia, connected June 24.

Judge Robert A. Mark approved an amended question connected June 27 to adhd 4 lease rejections, which amounted to 19 leases for properties successful Florida and 3 leases for Georgia locations.

Franchisee filed for bankruptcy

Sailormen Inc., which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection connected Jan. 15, 2026, submitted a question successful January successful the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida to cull 17 leases retroactively to Jan. 15 aft closing 8 locations connected Jan. 19, 5 locations connected Jan. 20, and 4 locations connected Jan. 22, according to tribunal papers.

The debtor asserted 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. believed that closing the 17 unprofitable locations would trim its expenses by implicit $1 cardinal annually.

Operator sells 97 locations

The franchisee subsequently won Mark's support connected June 23 to merchantability 97 of its restaurants for a full of $16.55 million, according to court papers.

The restaurants included 50 Florida Popeyes locations sold to Pulse Restaurant Group LLC for $2.69 million, 23 Orlando-area restaurants to RFI Ventures LLC for $2.5 million, 16 Miami-area stores to Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen Inc. for $9.6 million, 5 Savannah, Ga., locations to SBH Foods PLK LLC for $650,000, and 3 West Palm Beach, Fla.-area restaurants to 61 Biscuits LLC for $1.11 million, according to tribunal orders.