16 US RETAILERS, RESTAURANT CHAINS HAVE FILED FOR BANKRUPTCY

Aine Cain and Madeline Stone of Business Insider on June 2, 2020 released a list of 16 US retailers and restaurant chains that have filed for bankruptcy and sought Chapter 11 protection or liquidated themselves before the first half of the year.

The previous year saw a number of well-known national and regional retailers file for both Chapter 7 and Chapter 11 bankruptcy. This resulted in everything from outright liquidation to financial reshuffling.

The entire list follows: The entire fleet of Papyrus stores was slated to shut down when the chain's parent company, The Schurman Retail Group, filed for bankruptcy in January; After Kroger announced it would divest its stake in Lucky's Market in December, industry observers wondered whether the regional chain might be in jeopardy. The following month, Lucky's filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy; organic grocer Earth Fare filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on February 4. The chain's 50 natural foods stores were set to shut down, but some locations have been acquired by new owners; Noah's Event Venue, a chain offering spaces for various gatherings, technically filed for bankruptcy in May 2019. However, in February 2020, a federal judge ordered the remaining Noah's locations closed, leaving engaged couples around the country scrambling; Home goods retailer Pier 1 filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on February 17. In May, the Texas-based company said it would shut down its business after failing to find a buyer; Michigan-based chain Art Van Furniture filed for Chapter 11 protection on March 8; Modell's Sporting Goods filed for Chapter 11 on March 11. The family-owned sporting goods chain will liquidate its remaining stores after failing to find a buyer.

FoodFirst Global Restaurants, the parent company of the Brio Italian Mediterranean and Bravo Fresh Italian restaurant chains, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on April 10. The company said that 71 of its 92 restaurants had temporarily closed amid the coronavirus outbreak; True Religion filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on April 13. It had previously filed for bankruptcy in 2017 but emerged from proceedings four months later; J. Crew filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on May 4. The company now plans to convert $1.65 billion of its debt into equity. Neiman Marcus filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on May 7, citing "inexorable pressure" from the coronavirus pandemic; Stage Stores, which owns Goody's, Palais Royal, Bealls, Peebles, and Gordmans, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on May 10, saying that coronavirus-related closures exacerbated a "challenging market environment." The company said it would start winding down operations while seeking a buyer for part or all of its business; Garden Fresh Restaurants, owner of the buffet chains Souplantation and Sweet Tomatoes filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on May 14, choosing to close its doors for good; JCPenney filed for bankruptcy on May 15, saying in court documents that pandemic-related disruptions pushed it over the edge. It will close about 30% of its stores; on May 27, off-price retailer Tuesday Morning filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and announced plans to close approximately 230 stores; the US arm of Le Pain Quotidien filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on May 27. It sold all of its 98 locations to Aurify Brands, which reportedly plans to reopen at least 35 restaurants. #COVID19