What all these bankruptcies say about the state of restaurants right now

What do all these bankruptcies mean for the future of the restaurant industry? In this week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive, RB editors Joe Guszkowski and Lisa Jennings join me to discuss the spate of bankruptcy filings this year and what they mean for the business. Seventeen restaurant chains have filed for Chapter 11 debt protection this year, most of them since June. That probably undercounts the true industry challenge as several companies are either close to filing or are doing an out-of-court restructuring. The filings include one of the industry’s biggest ever in Red Lobster. We discuss these bankruptcies and get an update on where the businesses stand. We also talk about why these bankruptcies are happening now, four years after the pandemic. We also get into a discussion on what works and how businesses can generate sales in a difficult environment. Amid all the bankruptcy filings are companies like Chili’s and Wingstop that have reported ultra-strong sales. Why are they able to do that while others struggle? We’re talking bankruptcies on A Deeper Dive so please check it out.