Talk about a fall from grace.
At the height of Bertucci’s success in the late 1980s and ’90s, the Italian restaurant chain grew to over 100 locations along the East Coast.
The establishment toted a higher-end experience, where customers could order a pizza or a pasta dish, in addition to chicken parmigiana and other beloved Italian classics, it was something you couldn’t get anywhere else at the time.
But the chain has suffered a great fall.
Following three Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings, the third of which has yet to be resolved, all that’s left of the chain is 12 locations nationwide.
But that doesn’t mean Bertucci’s is going down gently.
“Bertucci’s Restaurants LLC has filed a comprehensive disclosure statement with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida outlining its proposed reorganization plan, which would allow the Italian restaurant chain to emerge from Chapter 11 protection with a dramatically restructured business model focused on fast-casual dining expansion,” Chapter11Cases.com reported.
This way, a few creditors would be paid off, according to a 28-page disclosure statement filed by Bertucci’s this past summer.
In the filing, attorneys R. Scott Shuker and Lauren L. Stricker of Shuker & Dorris, P.A. stated, “The debtor believes the plan provides the best means currently available for its emergence from Chapter 11 and the best recoveries possible for Holders of claims and interests.”
Bertucci’s first filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April 2018, according to Nations Restaurant News. Two months later in June, the chain was acquired by Earl Enterprises for $20 million, the Street reported.
Four years later in December 2022, the chain filed a second time citing COVID-19, inflation, increased costs, and declining sales.
Following the move, it closed multiple underperforming locations. Then, three years later, the chain filed for a third time.
This latest restructuring sees the launch of Bertucci’s Pronto, a fast-casual concept. The first Pronto store opened in Boston just before the bankruptcy filing.
After, the company renegotiated leases, got rid of operational costs where possible, and aimed to focus on remaining high-performing sit-down locations and its new, fast casual concept.
Fast forward to today and almost 90% of Bertucci’s locations have gone dark.
There are now nine locations in Massachusetts, in addition to a single location in Delaware, Virginia and Pennsylvania.
Despite such a fall, the Italian chain is optimistic about Pronto, which, according to Mashed, features a range of breakfast items, sandwiches, and other quick bites, like pizza by the slice.
But today’s current economic conditions have made things challenging for the Italian chain.
“For the first time in years, grocery hauls are getting bigger as consumers opt to buy more food for home cooking. According to federal data, grocery prices have increased by 1.1% over the past year, while the cost of restaurant meals has grown by 4.1%. Despite the slower rise in grocery prices compared to restaurant prices, both are still significantly higher than in recent years due to cumulative inflation,” World Economic Magazine reported.
The chain’s survival falls on whether the court accepts its turnaround plan.
Dining and Cooking