Bar Louie has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy — this marks their second such filing within the last five years.
The pub chain based in Dallas submitted the paperwork on Wednesday following the closure of multiple outlets in Ohio, Michigan, and New Jersey over the past few days.
Bar Louie owes more than $1.8 million to US Foods and another $590,000 to supplier Edward Don, according to court documents filed by its parent company, BLH TopCo.
The firm is additionally seeking approval to terminate the leases of 14 poorly performing restaurants located in Tennessee, Ohio, Illinois, Missouri, Texas, Michigan, Colorado, and New Jersey.
Bar Louie has recently shut down several of its locations over the past few weeks and days, reducing its total number of restaurants to 48.
The highest number of restaurants for this chain reached 134 in 2019, prior to its initial bankruptcy declaration in January the following year.
Established in Dallas back in 1990, Bar Louie has made a name for itself with its selection of cocktails, hearty pub fare, and lively happy hour patrons.
It’s the newest addition to casual dining to declare bankruptcy, following in the footsteps of Red Lobster and TGI Fridays.
Bucca di Beppo
, and On the Border — each of which attributed their challenges to pandemic-related losses and increasing expenses.
The company proceeded to close down 38 outlets across the United States, with an additional 22 stores shutting their doors during the pandemic.
Similar to numerous full-service establishments, its revenues never completely recovered following the pandemic.
In 2023, sales decreased by an additional 2.3 percent, reducing the number of outlets to just 66 stores. This figure represents fewer than half of the 134 locations it managed during its peak year in 2019, as reported by Technomic.
Staff at shuttered eateries only learned about it this week.
A staff member from one of the recently closed Bar Louie restaurants in Michigan shared that they found out about the shutdown while working on March 23rd.
WXYZ
.
The employee went on to say that the last two Michigan sites still operational are located in Royal Oak and Clinton Township.
Staff in New Jersey were caught off guard when they found out that Bar Louie had unexpectedly closed its East Brunswick location without any prior announcement.
The bankruptcy filing for Bar Louie has occurred following similar struggles experienced by other well-known restaurants due to increasing inflation rates.
Red Lobster
filed for bankruptcy
In 2024, after several years of declining sales, only to
exit
A few months afterward, following its acquisition by RL Investor Holdings.
On the Border filed for bankruptcy on March 5 after the brand experienced a ‘r
apid loss of liquidity
.’
Following the closure of 77 outlets, their submission was made, with just 60 operational stores remaining across the country.
Hooters is on the
verge of bankruptcy
For the first time since operations began, due to financial difficulties and declining business.
Before the meeting about submitting the documents, Hooters had shut down.
40 ‘underperforming’ restaurants
In June, covering sites in Florida, Kentucky, Rhode Island, Texas, and Virginia.
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