1069 Restaurant Group LLC, a Winter Park company, has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The largest franchise group of Golden Corral Corporation, 1069 Restaurant Group LLC cites the impact of COVID-19 on buffet-style eateries and the restaurant industry as a whole as its reason for filing.
The case was filed on Monday, October 5, with at least six locations facing potential closures. Under chapter 11, often referred to as “reorganization” bankruptcy, debtors usually present a plan of reorganization to maintain business and repay creditors over time. 1069 Restaurant Group LLC franchises 33 Golden Corral restaurants across Florida and Georgia with only six currently offering dine-in services and 18 expected to reopen by December.
At the start of the pandemic, Golden Corral Corp. sent guidelines to restaurants and employed internal task forces to monitor the situation. Additional safety measures were implemented to promote safe environments for guests. These precautions included changing serving utensils and sanitizing surfaces every 30 minutes, as well as reinforcing cleaning procedures such as hand washing and ensuring all hand sanitizer stations are stocked and operating properly. Despite efforts to provide safe environments, more than half of Americans still choose to eat at home. As COVID-19 continues to ravage the restaurant industry, overall loses could potentially total $240 billion by the end of 2020.
