Bankrupt fried chicken chain franchisee sells last 23 locations

Rising postulation successful the fried chickenhearted eating sector, which roseate 3% industrywide successful 2025 according to Circana, wasn't capable to forestall Popeyes franchisee Sailormen's fiscal distress and bankruptcy filing successful January 2026.

Sailormen's economical issues prompted it to divest of each of its edifice locations.

Bankrupt Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen franchisee Sailormen Inc., which operated 136 fried chickenhearted locations when it filed for bankruptcy, won support to merchantability its 23 Orlando country stores a 2nd clip aft its archetypal merchantability fell through.

Popeyes sells Orlando country locations

Judge Robert A. Mark of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida successful Miami signed an bid connected July 23 approving Sailormen's merchantability of its 23 Orlando portion Popeyes restaurants to SBH Foods PLK LLC for $2.67 million.

Sailormen had already won support from Mark connected June 23, 2026, to merchantability 97 of its restaurants, which included a merchantability of 5 Savannah, Ga., locations to SBH Foods PLK for $650,000. The debtor besides won support successful the woody to merchantability the 23 Orlando-area restaurants to RFI Ventures LLC for $2.5 million.

Buyer didn't adjacent the merchantability

RFI Ventures, however, failed to adjacent connected the acquisition of the 23 Orlando locations by its July 12 deadline, which led to SBH Foods PLK agreeing to acquisition the restaurants, according to a July 17 tribunal motion.

Sailormen's merchantability of the 97 Popeyes locations included 50 units sold to Pulse Restaurant Group LLC for $2.69 million, 16 Miami-area stores sold to Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen Inc. for $9.6 million, and 3 West Palm Beach, Fla.-area restaurants sold to 61 Biscuits LLC for $1.11 million, according to tribunal orders.

Franchisee closed 39 locations

The Miami, Fla.-based wholly owned subsidiary of Interfoods of America Inc. besides closed 39 locations that it could not sell.

Sailormen filed for Chapter 11 extortion aft a failed merchantability of definite locations, a default connected recognition facilities, and a bid of lawsuits and store closings caused the institution fiscal distress.

Popeyes Louisiana Chicken Inc., the genitor institution of the worldwide chain, did not record for bankruptcy. The bankruptcy progressive Sailormen Inc., a large franchisee of the chain.

The debtor submitted a question successful January successful the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida to cull 17 leases retroactively to Jan. 15 aft closing 8 locations connected Jan. 19, 5 locations connected Jan. 20, and 4 locations connected Jan. 22, according to tribunal papers.

The debtor asserted that the leases should beryllium rejected arsenic of the petition date, since the restaurants were closed wrong 1 week of the petition day and earlier the proceeding connected the debtor's first-day motions.