Sbarro LLC, the 800-restaurant U.S. pizza chain, filed for bankruptcy protection for the second time in three years as customer traffic slowed in the shopping-mall food courts where many of its stores do business.
The company listed assets of $175.4 million and liabilities of $165.2 million in a Chapter 11 petition filed today in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan. Melville, New York-based Sbarro said in a statement that it will use court protection to quickly reorganize under a plan already supported by holders of most of its debt, while also shopping around for better offers.
While Sbarro’s units have “a worldwide brand and potential for future growth, their existing capital structure is unsustainable and their operational and financial performance has fallen significantly short of expectations due to an unprecedented decline in mall traffic that continues to hamper retailers and restaurant operators,” Chief Financial Officer Carolyn Spatafora said in court papers.
