Major pizza chain franchisee files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy

Pizza lovers volition person a harder clip uncovering their favourite slice, arsenic an economical downturn successful the fast-food pizza eating assemblage has resulted successful large concatenation franchisees closing 100s of edifice locations and filing for bankruptcy.

The nation's largest pizza eating chain, Domino's Pizza, is among the pizza giants whose franchisees person filed for bankruptcy.

Major pizza concatenation Papa John's, which has not filed for bankruptcy, announced successful its fourth-quarter net telephone that it volition adjacent 300 underperforming restaurants, including 200 by the extremity of 2026. The institution did not uncover a deadline for closing the remaining 100.

Papa John's besides said it would chopped 7% of its workforce.

“We person identified astir 300 underperforming restaurants crossed North America that are not gathering marque expectations oregon deficiency a wide way to sustainable fiscal improvement, arsenic good arsenic locations wherever we tin efficaciously transportation income to a adjacent restaurant,” Papa John's CFO Ravi Thanawala said successful a statement.

Pizza Hut, which besides hasn't filed for bankruptcy, won't beryllium near retired of closings arsenic the company's genitor Yum! Brands successful February said that it would adjacent 250 underperforming locations arsenic portion of its Hut Forward program successful the archetypal fractional of 2026.

And now, Domino's Pizza concatenation franchisee, North County Pizza Inc., has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy extortion to reorganize its edifice businesses.

The bankruptcy filing volition springiness North County Pizza breathing country to restructure its indebtedness and reorganize its businesses nether the bankruptcy statute, arsenic it authorizes an automatic enactment of immoderate ineligible actions against the institution during the bankruptcy case.

The debtor did not authorities a crushed for filing for bankruptcy successful the petition and has not revealed if it volition adjacent locations oregon laic disconnected immoderate employees.

Restaurant franchisees person blamed fierce competition, rising labour and nutrient costs, and precocious lease rates that person required companies to motorboat restructurings oregon record for bankruptcy.

Domino’s holds the rubric of largest pizza concatenation successful the U.S. with astir 7,090 units done the 3rd 4th of 2025, according to the “Domino’s 101: Fun facts” on the company’s website.

More bankruptcies: 

• Troubled automobile shaper files Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation

• Major gambling destination files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy

• Major section store marque liquidates successful Chapter 11 bankruptcy

The Oceanside, Calif.-based pizza concatenation franchisee filed its petition connected March 11 successful the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of California, listing $100,000 to $1 cardinal successful assets and $1 cardinal to $10 cardinal successful liabilities, according to Bankruptcy Observer.