One other wave of Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen eating places are prone to shut quickly, the newest dramatic improvement in ongoing chapter proceedings involving a distinguished franchisee for the fast-food rooster chain.
The franchisee, Sailormen Inc. of Miami, has been attempting to unload its belongings, which had included about 130 Popeyes places on the time of its preliminary Chapter 11 petition in January.
However in an public sale final week, as many as 52 of these places did not discover a bidder, a surprising new courtroom doc reveals. The grim consequence left Sailormen to find out that “rejecting” the shop leases—chapter communicate for terminating its agreements with landlords—is probably going its subsequent plan of action.
“These shops now represent a burden on the Debtor’s property, and, as of July 1, 2026, the Debtor will not have the authority to make use of money collateral to function these shops,” attorneys for Sailormen stated in a chapter submitting.
However not so quick. After a listening to on June 23, a decide allowed solely 18 of these lease rejections to go ahead, with Sailormen indicating it’ll shut and vacate the authorized eating places by the top of the month. The impacted Popeyes shops are situated in Florida and Georgia.
A second listening to to find out what is going to occur to the remaining leases is about for June 26. Courtroom filings observe that Sailormen might nonetheless take away shops from the record earlier than the rejections change into efficient, presumably if a last-minute purchaser is discovered.
It’s unclear what number of jobs can be impacted by these closures. Sailormen and its authorized counsel didn’t reply to requests for remark. A spokesperson for Popeyes declined to remark.
Which Popeyes places are closing?
Sailormen has already closed 20 locations as a part of its Chapter 11 proceedings, as Quick Firm beforehand reported.
The franchisee had stated in courtroom paperwork that it suffered from inflationary pressures and tender foot site visitors that by no means totally recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic.
After holding auctions to unload its belongings, Sailormen final week advised the courtroom that lots of its shops did not discover a bidder. The preliminary proposed record included 52 places, which was a shocking quantity, because it amounted to virtually half of Sailormen’s remaining portfolio.
Nevertheless, following a listening to on the matter, the U.S. Chapter Courtroom for the Southern District of Florida has thus far solely granted permission to reject the leases on 18 places. The destiny of the remaining shops will probably be decided on the June 26 listening to.
The 18 impacted eating places are as follows:
Florida
- 524 Atlantic Blvd., Neptune Seashore
- 7507 Atlantic Blvd., Jacksonville
- 814 E. Cervantes St., Pensacola
- 1050 S. Walnut St., Starke
- 18403 S. Dixie Hwy., Cutler Bay
- 2161 S. Byron Butler Pkwy., Perry
- 6401 N. Ninth Ave., Pensacola
- 3716 Gulf Breeze Pkwy., Gulf Breeze
- 450047 State Route 200, Callahan
- 5695 NW twenty third St., Gainsville
- 15655 NW U.S. Freeway 441, Alachua
- 801 W. Base St., Madison
- 6329 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. St. N., St. Petersburg
- 11840 State Street 64 E., Bradenton
- 3390 First St., Bradenton
Georgia
- 397 U.S. Freeway 84 E., Cairo
- 615 E. Oglethorpe Ave., Hinesville
- 4933 New Jesup Hwy., Brunswick
What in regards to the franchisee’s different places?
In an public sale final week, a number of bidders stepped in to buy Sailormen’s eating places, presumably these which might be seen as having a greater probability for long-term success.
Maybe most notably, Popeyes itself has agreed to purchase 16 places, most within the Miami space, the place the fast-food chain is headquartered, based on courtroom paperwork.
It’s common for restaurant chains to scoop up places from struggling franchisees. Hardee’s, for example, not too long ago bought and reopened dozens of places after a authorized battle had pressured the shops to shut.
In one other attention-grabbing twist, a restricted legal responsibility firm known as Pulse Restaurant Group has bought 50 of Sailormen’s places. David Damato, CEO of Sailormen, can be listed in courtroom paperwork as CEO of Pulse Restaurant Group. Quick Firm reached out to Damato for remark.
The Popeyes model is owned by Restaurant Manufacturers Worldwide (RBI), which additionally owns Tim Hortons, Burger King, and Firehouse Subs. On the finish of final yr, RBI stated it had slightly below 3,600 Popeyes places within the U.S. and Canada.
This story is creating and could also be up to date.
