Owner of US restaurant chain Fatburger owner files for bankruptcy in latest casual-dining demise
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Fatburger outlets in Singapore closed in 2023 when their operator, franchise management company Deelish Brands, was wound down.
PHOTO: DEELISH BRANDS
NEW YORK – FAT Brands, the owner of restaurant chains Fatburger, Johnny Rockets and Twin Peaks, filed for bankruptcy, adding to a string of casual-dining brands that have sought court protection from creditors.
The Beverly Hills-based company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Texas on Jan 26, court documents show. It listed assets of US$1 billion (S$1.27 billion) to US$10 billion, and liabilities in the same range.
The step came after FAT Brands did not make interest payments due in October 2025 on some of its US$1.2 billion in whole-business securitisation debt. Creditors then called for a full and immediate repayment of that total amount, saying the failure to pay constituted a default. FAT Brands warned that the demand could force it to seek bankruptcy protection.
FAT Brands has more than 2,300 eateries around the world, according to its website.
Fatburger outlets in Singapore closed in 2023
FAT Brands’ collapse follows several other bankruptcies in the casual-dining industry in recent years, including Hooters, TGI Friday’s and Red Lobster. Many, like FAT Brands, were loaded up with whole-business securitisation debt, a product that uses Wall Street financial engineering to lower borrowing costs for franchise-heavy businesses.
Hooters entered Chapter 11 in 2025 with about US$300 million of such asset-backed bonds and emerged from that process in recent weeks. TGI Friday’s, which went bankrupt in late 2024, was also funded with that type of debt.
FAT Brands acquired Italian restaurant chain Fazoli’s in 2021 for US$130 million and sports restaurant company Twin Peaks, a Hooters competitor, for US$300 million the same year.
Food distributor Sysco and food delivery services firm DoorDash are listed in court documents among the company’s largest unsecured creditors, with claims of about US$5 million and US$1.4 million, respectively. BLOOMBERG
