Buca di Beppo files for bankruptcy, plans to keep remaining 44 locations open

Days after closing more than a dozen restaurants, Italian American restaurant chain Buca di Beppo has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The company, known for serving big portions to large groups and its kitschy decor, said it intends to use the bankruptcy process to restructure its operations and keep 44 locations open, including restaurants in Pasadena, Universal City, Encino and Redondo Beach.

“This is a strategic step towards a strong future for Buca di Beppo,” Rich Saultz, the company’s president, said in a statement. “While the restaurant industry has faced significant challenges, this move is the best next step for our brand.”

William Snyder, chief restructuring officer, said the remaining restaurants were open for business and “we expect day-to-day operations to continue uninterrupted” during bankruptcy. Gift cards, reservations and promotions remain active and redeemable.

Buca di Beppo has been reducing its brick-and-mortar footprint for years, beset by many of the same issues faced by restaurant competitors: sluggish consumer spending, higher employee wages and increased food costs among them. The Orlando, Fla., company, which saw sales decrease 4.7% last year, peaked at 95 locations in 2013, according to Restaurant Business.

Last month, Buca di Beppo abruptly shut down 13 restaurants, about 20% of its portfolio, including a location in Sacramento. The privately held company, which was founded in Minneapolis in 1993, is opening one new location.

The closures in July and Monday’s filing mark the latest sign of distress for the restaurant industry.

In June, Rubio’s Coastal Grill closed 48 of its California restaurants, including 24 in the Los Angeles area. Days later, the Carlsbad, Calif., fast-casual restaurant chain filed for bankruptcy protection and said it was seeking a buyer. It continues to operate 86 restaurants in California, Arizona and Nevada.

“Like the restaurant industry overall, Rubio’s has been negatively affected over the past few years by diminishing in-store traffic attributable to work-from-home practices remaining in place, and by rising food and utility costs that, combined with significant increases to the minimum wage in California, put pressure on a number of its locations,” the company said in a statement.

And in May, Red Lobster filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after closing dozens of locations.

The seafood chain has foundered in recent years because of managerial missteps, the effects of a sale to a private equity firm a decade ago and, most recently, its inability to bounce back after pandemic lockdowns. Red Lobster said its remaining locations — about 580 in the U.S. and Canada, as well as franchise locations in a handful of other countries — would operate as usual during the bankruptcy process.