Popular burger chain files for bankruptcy and sparks fears of mass closures

Popular Southern burger chain Hwy 55 Burgers, Shakes & Fries has filed for bankruptcy, raising fears of mass closures.

The Little Mint, Inc. – the restaurant’s parent company – headquartered in Mount Olive, North Carolina, filed a petition on December 31, citing financial difficulties and labor shortages due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The company operates 22 corporate locations and an additional 71 franchise locations in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia.

Before filing for Chapter 11 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, the company closed 13 business locations.

The debtor listed $1 million to $10 million in assets and $10 million to $50 million in liabilities in its petition. De Straat reports this.

The civilian company estimates it has about $11 million in secured debt and another $5.8 million in unsecured debt.

The chain long focused on strip mall locations, but in 2018 transitioned to standalone operations, including drive-thru windows. Bondoro.

This is just the latest chain struggling to cope with the aftershocks of the pandemic, which caused labor issues, inflation and a change in the way Americans dined out.

The company operates 22 corporate locations and an additional 71 franchise locations across the South, selling a range of burgers, cheesesteaks, frozen custards and more.

Although the company brought in $24.4 million in revenue in 2023, the burger joint suffered net losses that year and into 2022.

One location in Murfreesboro, Tennessee closed within months of opening and is no longer listed on the company’s website.

The restaurant officially opened its doors on September 17, but that was no longer the case by mid-December. The company said the location has undergone a “change in leadership.” WGNS reported.

The closure came shortly after it was announced that Little Mint, Inc. employed children outside the permitted hours and assigned them ‘dangerous tasks’, according to the US Department of Labor.

The owner, Kenny Moore, ‘entered into an enhanced compliance agreement with the agency in March 2024 after discovering the company employed 13 children to work after 7 p.m. between Labor Day and June 1.

The company also made children work more than three hours per school day, in violation of child labor laws, the department found.

Kenny Moore founded the company in 1991, starting as Andy’s Cheesesteaks & Cheeseburgers restaurant before rebranding in 2012.

Moore founded the company in 1991, starting as Andy’s Cheesesteaks & Cheeseburgers restaurant.

In 2012, the company was rebranded as Hwy 55 Burgers, Shakes & Fries, which sells a range of burgers, cheesesteaks, chicken fingers, frozen custard, salads and more.

A beloved sandwich chain made famous by Diners, Drive-in and Dives recently closed after failing to recover from Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Melt Bar and Grilled owner Matt Fish announced on Facebook on New Year’s Day that the remaining restaurant would close for good.

Fish opened the first in 2006 in Lakewood, Ohio, and in 2013 it won industry awards for its upscale grilled cheese sandwiches and craft beers. At its peak, there were 13 locations in the state.

Fish was featured on the iconic Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives show with Guy Fieri on Food Network.

He also appeared with Happy Days actor Henry Winkler on Fox 8 News, one of his many local media appearances.

Melt Bar and Grilled owner Matt Fish announced on Facebook on New Year’s Day that the remaining restaurant would close for good

Fish was featured on the iconic Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives show with Guy Fieri on Food Network. (Photo: one of Melt Bar & Grilled’s famous sandwiches)

But in June – by which time there were only four locations – Melt filed for bankruptcy, warning that it was struggling to pay its landlords and suppliers.

And by September, the chain had scaled back to its original Lakewood location following the closure of the Independence, Akron and Mentor stores.

The company decided to focus on that one location and relaunched after a renovation and rebranding.

But in the New Year’s Day Facebook post, Fish said the relaunched restaurant simply wasn’t selling enough sandwiches to stay in business.

“All aspects of the restart went according to plan, except one: the expected robust business levels were never achieved,” he wrote.