BurgerFi files for bankruptcy, restaurant closures could follow

When the two brand names are combined the company owns and operates 162 locations across the United States and the flagship restaurant in New York City that only opened its doors just months ago.

There is an epidemic of corporate bankruptcies and store closures in the United States. Big Lots has just filed for bankruptcy. LL Flooring just announced that it is closing all of its 442 stores and Red Lobster – perhaps the best-known seafood chain in America – has filed for bankruptcy but only after shutting down 100 restaurants. About a dozen other restaurant chains are in the same financial straights.

Other stores like Nordstrom are closing locations in high-crime areas like San Francisco, where shoplifting has become the untenable cost of doing business due to lax laws restraining it.

At BurgerFI’s 102 locations, you can buy a standard cheeseburger for about $11 with the price rising for extra toppings or more exotic burger variations. The company indicated that it might be facing serious financial problems last month with just $4.4 million in holdings and mounting debts. The chain has already closed eight restaurants in the first quarter of the year, the Mail noted. Financial hemorrhaging continued in the second quarter with $18.4 million in losses.

The chain closed down 14 other locations in 2023 while most of the remaining restaurants are in Florida, Maryland, North Carolina, New York and Indiana. BurgerFi has not revealed any plan to confront its financial failings, Sarah Foss, global head of legal at Debtwire, told the Mail.

“BurgerFi's Chapter 11 case comes on the heels of a busy year for restaurant bankruptcies, with chains like Rubio's, Red Lobster and Buca di Beppo commencing bankruptcy cases this year,” she added.