More Popeyes locations have closed after major franchisee filed for bankruptcy
More Popeyes locations have closed after a major franchisee filed for bankruptcy earlier this year.
Sailormen Inc., which operates 136 Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen locations. Georgia and FloridaIt filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January. More than a dozen of the company’s restaurants closed after the application. But the franchisee closed three locations before filing for bankruptcy, though the closures were revealed in a recent filing. According to Newsweek.
In the filing filed March 10, Sailormen Inc. sought to reject unexpired leases for the chicken chain’s shuttered locations, all of which are located in Georgia.
The three closings “will reduce the Debtor’s SG&A,” the court filing said. [selling, general and administrative] Spending at the restaurant level is over $1 million annually, according to the report.
Independent contacted Popeyes for comment.
Sailormen Inc. cited inflation, the Covid-19 pandemic and an “increasingly limited skilled workforce” in court documents filed in bankruptcy filed in the Southern District of Florida.
Sailormen Inc., according to court records. It was founded in 1984 and at one point operated stores in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Missouri and Mississippi.
However, between 2012 and 2018, many of its locations were sold. The franchisee also tried to sell 16 locations in 2023, but that deal fell through.
Peter Perdue, Popeyes’ president in the U.S. and Canada, announced Sailormen Inc. in January. He said the “vast majority” of restaurants operated by the company will likely remain open. Restaurant Management.
“Sailormen has been a successful, growth-oriented franchise organization in our system for many years. The vast majority of its restaurants are very profitable, in line with our system average (and some above average),” he said.
The news follows the closure of several other fast food chains, including drive-thru chain Salad and Go. All 25 remaining locations in Texas are closedwith 11 stores in Oklahoma.
Colorado-based Noodles & Company recently announced that it expects to close up to 35 restaurants in 2026, after closing 33 in 2025.
Burger chain Jack in the Box also closed dozens of underperforming restaurants across the U.S. last year.
