The Latest News

FE&S delivers relevant news of the day to the foodservice equipment and supplies marketplace.

Advertisement

Perkins & Marie Callender’s Prepares for a Sale

Ending a marriage that began in 2006, Perkins & Marie Callender's LLC is preparing to split the two restaurant chains. In fact, the multiconcept operator has executed an asset purchase agreement with Perkins Group LLC that covers Perkins' restaurants and a segment of the multiconcept operator’s Foxtail Foods business, which manufactures pies, pancake mixes, cookie dough and muffin batter for in-store bakeries and third-party customers. The company remains in discussions with investors and potential buyers regarding the Marie Callender's restaurants, per a release announcing this news.

In a related move, Perkins & Marie Callender’s voluntarily initiated Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. As part of the restructuring process, on August 4, 2019, the company closed 10 Perkins and 19 Marie Callender's locations that it described as “underperforming.” All remaining Perkins and Marie Callender’s restaurants will be open and operating as usual.

Also part of the bankruptcy filing, Perkins & Marie Callender’s filed a series of motions that, if approved by the courts, will allow the company to maintain its usual employee compensation and benefit programs, make payments for goods and services in the normal course, and otherwise operate its business as usual. These motions are typical in a Chapter 11 process and are generally granted in the first days of the case. The company has an agreement with its existing lenders to provide debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing to ensure an efficient bankruptcy process. The company expects to have enough liquidity to continue to operate in the normal course while completing the sale process.

The Perkins system consists of 342 restaurants operating under the same name in 32 states and Canada. The Perkins network includes 101 company owned and operated locations and 241 franchised units. Marie Callender's consists of 7 company and 21 franchised restaurants; it is best known for its fresh-baked pies and has a national presence through supermarket frozen entree lines offered by ConAgra.