00:00A fast food giant stumbles. Popeyes franchisee with 130 locations.
00:05Files for bankruptcy. Another restaurant chain is in the Financial Hots.
00:10And a lot of chicken is on the line.
00:13Sailorman, Inc.
00:15of the largest franchisees of Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, has filed for Chapter 11.
00:20Bankruptcy after a rough year marked by debt, lawsuits, and falling traffic.
00:25Based in Miami, Sailorman has more than 130.
00:30Popeyes locations, mostly in Florida and Georgia.
00:34At the time of fire.
00:35The company was carrying close to $130 million in debt.
00:40According to the court filing, the past year had been especially hard for the company.
00:45As inflation pushed up everyday costs.
00:48Customer habits also shifted.
00:50After the pandemic.
00:51Meaning fewer people were coming through the doors.
00:54According to the court.
00:55According to the company, all of that together made it harder to keep up with its bills.
01:00To ease the pressure, Sailorman sold 16 Georgia restaurants in late 2023.
01:05To a buyer called Tar Heels Spice.
01:08That deal never closed.
01:10And the company ceased paying rent on those locations in April 2024.
01:15Subsequently suing the buyer for breach of contract.
01:19Things got worse.
01:20It was worse in December, when its main lender, BMO Bank, sued Sailorman.
01:25And asked the court to take control of the company's assets.
01:28What is Sailorman?
01:30Sailorman was founded in 1984 to operate Popeye's restaurants.
01:35It was acquired by Bob Berg and Steve Wemple in 1987.
01:40At a time when the company ran 11 locations in the Miami area.
01:44During the 1990s.
01:45The franchise expanded into multiple states, including Alabama.
01:50Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Missouri.
01:55And Mississippi.
01:56Between 2012 and 2018.
02:00The company sold off locations in several of those states and narrowed its focus to four.
02:05Florida and Georgia, where it continued developing new stores.
02:09As of mid-Jay.
02:10In January, Sailorman was operating 136 Popeye's restaurants.
02:15And employed more than 3,200 hourly workers.
02:18The company has not yet disclosed.
02:20Whether any locations will close.
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