Garden Fresh Restaurant Corp. has filed voluntary petitions for reorganization under Chapter 11 protection.
Piper Jaffray has been engaged to assist with the anticipated sale of the business. The company also plans to close between 20 and 30 underperforming restaurants to strengthen its financial position, pending approval from the court overseeing the reorganization.
Garden Fresh Restaurant Corp. was founded in 1983 through the acquisition of its first two Souplantation restaurants and adopted the name Sweet Tomatoes for new restaurants outside of its base in San Diego.
With 123 company-owned restaurants in 15 states, it is one of the largest soup and salad restaurant chains in the country.
The chain has experienced a number of factors that have increased cash flow pressure, including declining sales which has hit the entire restaurant industry. . Restaurants have been facing substantial pressures due to sales declines, as well as cost increases, as evidenced by the large number of recent Chapter 11 cases filed by restaurants, including Fresh & Easy, Fox & Hound, Cosi, and Logan’s Roadhouse.
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