An Atlanta-based franchisee that once operated about 67 Applebee’s restaurants in Alabama, Georgia, and Florida filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last month. The operator, Neighborhood Restaurant Partners Florida, went to court on March 24 with liabilities ranging from $10 million to $50 million.
At least ten locations in Florida have already closed their doors, while Albany, Georgia, lost its location at 637 Westover Blvd, the state’s only closure so far.
Court schedules list assets of $1 million to $10 million against liabilities of $10 million to $50 million, including more than $13 million owed to primary lender Equity Bank.
A History of Financial Turbulence
The franchisee had been shrinking for years before the bankruptcy filing. It closed nine restaurants in 2025 and five more in the first three months of 2026, leaving 53 locations open as of late March.
Sales began to soften in late 2015, after several years of strong growth. The company went through periods of uneven performance as it tested various strategies and promotions that did not deliver consistent results, according to court filings.
The COVID-19 pandemic made things worse, as did rising inflationary pressures on operating costs and a pullback in consumer spending.
After an unsuccessful attempt last year to sell the portfolio to a third party, the remaining restaurants are now headed for a court-supervised sale. Dine Brands, Applebee’s parent company, is serving as the stalking-horse bidder in the process and could end up acquiring some or all of the locations, with a deal expected around mid-May.
The 53 locations remain open and operating as usual during the process, with no new closures planned in the meantime, as the company pursues a going-concern sale, it says.
Sources: Savannah Now, PacerMonitor, USA Today