Corner Bakery Declares Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

Fast-casual bakery-café Corner Bakery (Dallas) has sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as it seeks to fend off an effort by creditors to take control of the company, Restaurant Business reports.

The chain has $33.8 million in secured debt that was taken out in 2017. Investment firm Pandya Group inherited that debt when it bought Corner Bakery from Roark Capital in 2020.

SSCP Restaurant Investors then acquired the debt and made moves to take the chain over, establishing a sale process earlier this month that prompted the bankruptcy filing, according to court documents.

Corner Bakery was once tagged as a potential rival to Panera Bread, but has struggled as people stopped coming into the office during the pandemic and since, the outlet writes. The company says it does have many profitable locations, but others “are underperforming and burdened the company.”

It is unclear just how many locations the brand now has, the article says. According to industry tracker Technomic, the chain had 161 locations at the end of 2021, down from 196 five years earlier. The 2021 number included 50 franchisee-owned locations, but court documents said that figure now stands at 14.

Read more at Restaurant Business.