This week on Nation's Restaurant News the top story was Dickey’s Barbecue franchisee files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Smokin’ Dutchman Holdings, a Dickey’s Barbecue Restaurants’ franchisee, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier this week in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Michigan. The franchisee operates four restaurants in Holland, Jenison, Kalamazoo, and Rockford, Mich.
In other news, BurgerFi International Inc. — the Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.-based fast-casual burger chain and parent to Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza — has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. According to the filing in the District of Delaware, BurgerFi and Anthony’s have accumulated between $50-$100 million in assets, and up to $500 million in debt.
Also, during Chipotle’s most recent earnings call in late July, former CEO Brian Niccol said the company’s automated digital makeline and Autocado systems were “making their way through final checks ahead of being pilot tested in their first restaurant.”
The company announced both systems are now live in an actual restaurant. Autocado – a cobotic prototype developed alongside Vebu that cuts, cores, and peels avocados before team members mash them into guacamole – is now being tested in a Huntington Beach, Calif., restaurant. The company said Autocado fully fleshes out the fruit inside an avocado every 26 seconds, which adds up when considering Chipotle is expected to use 5.18 million cases of avocados this year.
See what else was trending on NRN.com this week.
