Why did these 2 Bradenton restaurants close? It involves a Florida court case
A popular chicken restaurant is down to one Manatee County location.
Popeye’s Louisiana Kitchen recently closed two Bradenton stores after a federal judge ordered franchisee owner Sailormen Inc. to vacate the properties as part of an ongoing bankruptcy case.
Sailormen Inc. “shall surrender possession of the premises subject to each rejected lease,” wrote Judge Robert A. Mark of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida in Miami.
Sailormen Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January, according to court records.
Bradenton Popeye’s close, leaving one in Manatee County
The franchisee is an operator of 130 Popeye’s locations, and it “has about $130 million worth of debt,” according to Restaurant Business.
The Bradenton locations at 3390 First St. and 11840 State Road 64 E. closed June 30, according to court documents.
The properties were returned to their respective landlords.
The only other Manatee County Popeye’s location, 3707 U.S. 301, Ellenton, remains open.
The Bradenton stores were among 22 locations that Sailormen Inc. was forced to shutter throughout Florida and Georgia as of June 30, according to court records.
