Restaurant chains have navigated economic challenges since the Covid-19 pandemic, as many were forced to close down during the pandemic.
Once restaurants reopened, they needed to adopt health safety protocols meant to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
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Casual restaurants adjusted to the protocols and offered take-out and curbside pick-up for customers until the pandemic subsided and they could offer sit-down dining again.
Related: Popular restaurant chain franchisee files Chapter 11 bankruptcy
But new financial issues arose, such as rising labor and food costs driven by inflation and increased interest rates on debt obligations.
Financial distress caused by lingering effects of the pandemic, inflation, and rising interest rates led several popular dining chains to file for bankruptcy in the past year.
Red Lobster filed for bankruptcy in May 2024, closed about 187 restaurants, and emerged from Chapter 11 in September 2024 with about 478 locations in 44 states.
TGI Fridays filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Nov. 2, 2024, to reorganize its business, closed 76 locations, and had 85 U.S. locations on its website in April.
Popular restaurant chains file for bankruptcyÂ
Mexican restaurant chain On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina had about 120 locations at the beginning of this year and closed or vacated 40 non-performing stores on Feb. 24, 2025, because of problems with rent and/or financial performance.
On The Border filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on March 4, 2025, with plans to sell its assets to its prepetition bridge loan lender.
CHG US Holdings, which operates 18 Planta restaurant locations across the country in cities such as New York, Chicago, and the Los Angeles area, filed its petition on May 12, 2025, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.
The debtor closed restaurants in West Palm Beach, Fla.; South Beach, Fla.; and Brooklyn, N.Y., since filing for bankruptcy.
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S2 Grills restaurant chain files for bankruptcy
And now, the parent company of bar and grill restaurant chain S2 Grills has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to restructure its debt.
Related: Popular smoothie chain franchisee files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Debtor AWS Hospitality Group Inc. filed its Subchapter V petition on June 19 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois, listing $50,000 to $100,000 in assets and $1 million to $10 million in liabilities.
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The Mokena, Ill.-based debtor’s major creditors include Morgan Services Inc., owed over $88,000; Craig Shaffer & Associates, owed over $36,000; Bank of America, owed over $34,000; and Sysco, owed over $12,000.
The debtor did not state a reason for filing for bankruptcy in its petition.
The S2 Grills chain consists of nine locations in Illinois, including two casual S2 Bar and Grills in Chicago and one in Maywood, Ill., three S2 Express Grills in Chicago, and one each in Orland Park, Harvey, and Richton Park, Ill., according to its website.
The chain was founded in 2019 by Andre and Suheir Williams after receiving positive feedback on social media for menu items at their S2 Ultra Bar in Calumet Park, Ill., when they were relocating the bar.
The restaurant chain serves breakfast, featuring such choices as Ribeye Steak Big Breakfast with eggs, steak, rice or grits, potatoes, two pancakes or toast, and the S2 Big Breakfast with eggs, sausage or bacon, grits or rice, potatoes, two pancakes or toast.
The restaurant also offers Mexican food, such as tacos, burritos, and nachos; chicken and waffles, wings, and tenders; and dinners featuring ribeye steak, lamb chops, ribs, pot roast, lobster tail, king crab legs, salmon, and shrimp.
