The 801 chophouse chapter 11 filing was initiated by 801 Restaurant Group in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Kansas to address about $18.7 million in liabilities, according to court documents reviewed by USA TODAY.
Management confirmed that the legal proceedings apply to the parent company rather than the individual businesses that operate the restaurants, allowing high end locations to remain open and to continue honoring guest reservations and payroll, the company said.
The group attributed its financial distress to the failure of specific concept locations in Colorado and Minnesota, and it identified the shuttering of 801 Fish in Denver and 801 On Nicollet in Minneapolis as primary drivers of the liabilities.
Company officials said the Minneapolis site closed abruptly shortly after opening, and the parent company is using the Chapter 11 process to reorganize liabilities tied to those closures and other obligations for which it has liability, the statement reads.
Operational Impact And Next Steps
The formal filing includes a stay against creditor actions while 801 Restaurant Group develops a reorganization plan and negotiates long term financial arrangements with lenders under U.S. bankruptcy law, according to court filings and the company statement.
The group emphasized that the companies that own and operate the restaurants are not in bankruptcy and there are no plans for them to file, and it said the individual restaurant companies operating successfully are not impacted by the parent company's Chapter 11 filing.
Eight 801 Chophouse locations continue to serve customers across Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Colorado, and Virginia, the company said, and apart from the two closed concept sites, the Chapter 11 is not expected to affect remaining restaurants.
The company, founded in Des Moines and described in its statement as family owned, will remain open while it works through the court supervised restructuring and seeks agreements with creditors to resolve its outstanding liabilities.
