A BELOVED Italian restaurant chain has shuttered four locations amid financial woes.
The closures coincided with its bankruptcy filing submitted earlier this month, to the shock of some longtime customers.
3
An Italian restaurant chain has filed for bankruptcy for a third time (stock image)Credit: GETTY
3
Some locations have shuttered alongside the filing (stock image)Credit: Getty
3
Bertucci’s Italian Restaurant was founded in the 1980sCredit: Facebook/Bertucci’s Italian Restaurant
It marks the third time the restaurant brand Bertucci’s Italian Restaurant sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection since it was founded in 1981.
The previous two bankruptcy filings took place in 2018 and 2022.
“On April 24, 2025, Bertucci’s filed [for] bankruptcy with the goal of promptly reorganizing its business for a sustainable and successful future,” a statement from the chain read.
Bertucci’s also referenced other recent bankruptcies from competing casual dining chains, citing shared struggles due to changes in consumer spending habits in recent years.
Read More on Bankruptcies
“Consistent with numerous recent restaurant brand bankruptcies, consumer demand has shifted away from legacy casual-dining brands,” it noted.
Court documents also showed that Bertucci’s has between $10 million and $50 million in debt.
It also has assets valued in the same range.
Before the first filing in 2018, Bertucci’s had over 80 locations.
GONE FOR GOOD
It currently lists on its website just 15 in operation across Massachusetts, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Connecticut, and Maryland.
Only 10 remain in Massachusetts, but at least 14 locations in the state were listed on Bertucci’s site at the start of the month, with the chain suddenly shutting down at least four as it restructures, per CBS News.
Customer Charged Surprise $5 ‘Bitching Fee’ at Pizzeria After Speaking Up
Those restaurants were in Braintree, Mansfield, North Andover, and Norwood.
When called, a recorded message at each Bertucci’s location notes the same thing:
“Unfortunately, this location has permanently closed. We would like to thank our loyal guests for their support and patronage throughout the years.”
The remaining open Massachusetts locations are in Boston, Chelmsford, Framingham, Hingham, Medford, Newton, Reading, Waltham, and West Roxbury.
How does bankruptcy work?
Bankruptcy is a specific legal process that helps companies eliminate debt they can’t repay.
The process allows businesses to start fresh and gain access to new credit.
Supervised by federal courts, bankruptcies allow a company to sell off its assets more easily to pay off creditors, according to Investopedia.
Chapter 11, a common process for companies, is used to restructure a business with the goal of remaining open – even if it means selling off most of the company’s properties.
Chapter 7, on the other hand, sells all of a company’s assets, putting it out of business.
Chapter 15, alternatively, allows for collaboration between American and foreign courts to conduct bankruptcy proceedings with “parties of interest involving more than one country,” per the United States Courts.
The Boston location is a fast-casual spin-off of sorts known as Bertucci’s Pronto.
While it serves a 34-seat dining room, it also offers single slices of pizza, salads, and sandwiches made to go.
CAN’T BELIEVE IT
Customers were left stunned over the bankruptcy and the closures, arguing that Bertucci’s had consistently brought in crowds to try its famous brick oven pizzas and authentic pastas.
“It’s crazy because they actually made a lot of business, but now it’s vacant,” customer Stephen Arabian, who went to the Braintree location only to find a closure sign on the door, told CBS News.
The same happened to Courtney and Eddie Kinney, who got engaged at the Braintree Bertucci’s about a decade ago.
“We came just to have our usual dinner in our favorite booth, and you just broke the news to us. So sad!” Courtney exclaimed.
Even so, Bertucci’s has assured customers that it’s here for the long haul, just with fewer restaurants.
“For Bertucci’s longstanding and loyal patrons, the Bertucci’s you know and love is here to stay as well, just with a few less locations for now,” the company said while speaking with the outlet.
Other popular pizza restaurants have also closed down locations.
Last summer, an iconic chain with 6,700 nationwide suddenly closed 15, with 129 more on the “brink” following a menu flop.”
In November, another restaurant in a popular city confirmed the closure of a flagship location.