Burger King franchisee Meridian Restaurants files for bankruptcy

Burger King’s franchisee, Meridian Restaurants Unlimited LC, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, citing the high inflation, low sales, and soaring costs of food and labor. This is the second BK franchisee to declare insolvency this year, following Toms King, which is the fast-food chain’s biggest operator.

Meridian Restaurants is operating a total of 118 Burger King stores in nine states in the U.S. As per Restaurant Business, the Utah-headquartered company that was founded in 2002 has BK outlets in Wyoming, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Minnesota, North and South Dakota, and Arizona. It had $14 million in unsecured loans with the City National Bank.

The company was said to have filed its petition on March 2 at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court Utah District in Salt Lake City. Its other restaurant franchises, such as the Black Bear Diner, are not included in its bankruptcy case.

Based on its court filings, Meridian Restaurants stated it bought Burger King stores with lower-than-average sales, thinking it could make their results better. However, the company’s unit volumes turned out lower than the average for the BK system, which was only $1.4 million per location.

The company said the soaring costs of food and labor have further pushed them to lose profits; thus, it was forced to file for Chapter 11. Meridian also explained the pandemic and Burger King’s performance have resulted in a drop in foot traffic and earnings “without proportionate decreases in rental obligations, debt service, and other liabilities.”

At any rate, the bankruptcy filing shows that there are restaurants that have been operating at a loss for many years, which makes it hard for them to meet their financial obligations. As for Meridian, it needs a financial restructuring to recover.

In a statement, Journal Star quoted Meridian’s managing partner and chief restructuring officer, James Winder, as saying, “The company has been meeting with its creditors and Burger King corporate officials for some time, and financial restructuring is the natural next step as we take the company from surviving the pandemic to thriving in the post-pandemic environment.”

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