Bar Louie, a chain of restaurants headquartered in Addison, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and closed what it described as 38 underperforming locations, including two in North Texas.
The restaurants shuttered locally are at 2973 W. 7th St. in Fort Worth and at 1101 Melbourne Road in Hurst. The remaining closures are all over the map, including in Houston, San Antonio, Chicago, St. Louis, Milwaukee and Kansas City.
The company will continue to operate more than 90 restaurants, according to a statement. Banks have agreed to lend the company $22 million so Bar Louie can continue operating during bankruptcy. The case was filed Monday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware.
Bar Louie’s filing lists more than $100 million in outstanding debts, documents show.
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Bar Louie is part sports bar and part gastropub, with bar snacks like wings and loaded fries, pizzas, burgers and cocktails on its menu. The company was founded nearly 30 years ago in Chicago.
The company, which saw revenue fall 3.7% to $252 million last year, hired an investment banker in September to sell the chain, generating three letters of intent but no deal. It expects to emerge from Chapter 11 within 90 days under a new owner.
Some of the underperforming Bar Louies were near malls and saw declining foot traffic. Other problems included increased competition and higher labor costs.
“The business is just overbuilt, especially casual dining and full-service dining,” said Michael Halen, a senior restaurant analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. “There are too many restaurants.”
Chief restructuring officer Howard Meitiner told Bloomberg that the experience from restaurant to restaurant was inconsistent.
Halen said the restaurant industry is likely to see more closures.
“We’ve seen a lot in the last few months, and I think this is just the beginning," he said. "Once the economy softens, you’ll see this getting worse.”
Houlihan’s is one example. It closed two Dallas-area restaurants in late 2019 after it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Bar Louies in Dallas-Fort Worth have mostly opened in major retail centers, including The Shops at Park Lane in Dallas, Firewheel Town Center in Garland and Toyota Music Factory in Irving.
Bloomberg News and Tribune News Service contributed to this report.
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Addison-based Bar Louie closes 38 restaurants as part of bankruptcy filing - The Dallas Morning News
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