A franchisee of 70 Jack in the Box restaurants in Missouri and Illinois filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection Tuesday.
Conquest Foods LLC, based in the St. Louis suburb of Earth City, Mo., and affiliated companies Missouri Jack LLC and Illinois Jack LLC filed for debt protection in bankruptcy court for the Eastern District of Missouri, declaring liabilities of between $10 million and $50 million and assets of between $1 million and $10 million. It named Navid Sharafatian, managing member of TNH Partners LLC, which owns the three franchise companies, as its representative through the bankruptcy proceedings.
During Jack in the Box’s earnings call Thursday, CEO Darin Harris said in reference to the bankruptcy that there might be several closures in the St. Louis area. Company officials added that the St. Louis franchisee’s restaurants’ performance was close to system-wide sales but that the franchisee had “a leverage issue.”
They added that St. Louis was a mature market with an average store age of 30 years. Harris noted that the first St. Louis location opened in 1969.
Overall, Jack in the Box has been performing well during the pandemic. Same-store sales for the quarter ended Jan. 17, 2021, were up 12.5%, the best quarter since 1994 and following a same-store sales jump of 12.2% in the previous quarter.
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