A Florida Village Inn operator has filed for bankruptcy 5 times — but the restaurants are still open

Yet another franchisee has filed for bankruptcy.

This time, it’s a Florida franchisee operating several Village Inn breakfast restaurants in the Tampa Bay area that has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, citing financial losses tied to the 2024 hurricane season, weaker sales and rising overhead costs, according to the Tampa Bay Business Journal.

Village Inn Oldsmar LLC filed its petition Sept. 18 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida in Tampa, listing $50,000 to $100,000 in assets and $500,000 to $1 million in liabilities, according to PacerMonitor. The franchisee is managed by Lloyd D. Lehan IV, who has filed for bankruptcy on behalf of five Village Inn locations in Florida beginning in June.

Despite the filing, an employee at the Oldsmar location confirmed on Sept. 22 that the restaurant remains open with no plans to close, TheStreet reported.

The Oldsmar filing followed a similar Chapter 11 petition by Bay Pines Group LLC, another Lehan-owned franchisee operating a Village Inn on Bay Pines Blvd. in Seminole. That filing, submitted Aug. 14, listed more than $8 million in liabilities, according to Tampa Bay Business Journal.

Three months earlier, St. Petersburg-based VI Land O Lakes LLC filed Chapter 11 petitions on behalf of Village Inn locations in Land O Lakes, Brandon and Zephyrhills on June 10, according to BK Alerts.

That filing listed more than $85,000 in assets and more than $234,000 in liabilities. The largest unsecured creditors included the Florida Department of Revenue, owed $48,000; First Citizens Bank, owed $47,000; US Foods, owed $41,000; Sysco Food Service, owed $35,000; and the Internal Revenue Service, owed $29,000.

Revenue at the Land O Lakes, Brandon and Zephyrhills locations dropped from about $2.02 million in 2024 to $1.9 million in 2025, a decline of nearly 6%. Revenue was on pace for another annual decline, with the company reporting just over $658,000 through June 10 — roughly half the prior year’s total through the same period, according to court filings.

A manager at the Land O Lakes location told TheStreet in June that all affected locations were operating normally with no closures planned.

The Village Inn chain, which has operated for 68 years, has seen several Tampa-area franchisees seek Chapter 11 protection following financial damage linked to Hurricanes Helene and Milton in 2024, according to the Tampa Bay Business Journal.

Generative AI was used to draft this article, based on data provided by the Tampa Bay Business Journal, PacerMonitor and BKAlerts. It was reviewed and edited by Advance Local.

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