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Popular Italian restaurant chain files for bankruptcy - days after shutting more than a dozen locations across US
A popular Italian restaurant chain has filed for bankruptcy - just days after it abruptly shut 13 underperforming locations across the US.
Court documents filed just before midnight on Sunday show Buca di Beppo owes as much as $50million - yet has assets of under $50,000.
Last week, the chain - known for its family-style dishes and vintage décor - permanently closed restaurants in California and Florida. It also shut its last remaining locations in Michigan and Pennsylvania.
There is no indication of any further locations being shut in the court documents - but in most cases the filing of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy by a restaurant chains leads to closures.
Buca di Beppo has attracted celebrity fans including Hollywood legend Sylvester Stallone and Modern Family actress Sofia Vergara.
Buca di Beppo is known for its family-style Italian dishes (Pictured: YouTube personality Shay Carl at an event for the world record of the largest bowl of spaghetti at a California location)
Sofia Vergara poses for 'Meatballs 4 Ninos' at Buca di Beppo in 2013 in Santa Monica, California. She joined forces with Bucca di Beppo restaurants to raise funds and awareness for St Jude Children's Research Hospital
Orlando-based Bucca Di Beppo said in the court filing that it had been hit by a drop in sales - at the same time that costs for food and labor soared .
Under Chapter 11, the company will look to drastically cut costs by re-negotiating some of its rents or even getting out of mroe expensive leases.
Former employees at some eateries, many of which have been open for over two decades, said the closures last week came as a shock.
'It's very disheartening to have everything come to an end,' Rozalyn Marc-Aurele, who worked at a restaurant in Sacramento, California, for four years, told FOX40.
It comes amid a slew of restaurant closures across the US, as soaring food inflation and inflated running costs continue to hit small and mid-size chains.
Alongside the location in Sacramento, California, Buca di Beppo also closed restaurants in Livonia, Michigan, Colonie, Florida and Spring Township, Pennsylvania.
In a statement to DailyMail.com, the company confirmed it had closed 13 locations this week which were 'unable to recover from the damage caused by the pandemic and other market pressures.'
The Sacramento restaurant had been operating since 1999, serving the chain's famous meatballs and sharing platters of pasta and pizza.
'Just knowing this place has been open for so long and it's closing…is a big deal,' former employee Jayden Seizmore told FOX40.com.
He told the outlet that workers were unaware of the restaurant's closure until Monday morning.
Another former employee said they were told to report to the restaurant at 11am for an 'emergency meeting' where they were informed that it was shuttering.
'Being able to work here and having the experience that I did here, it's just really sad that it abruptly came to an end,' said Rozalyn Marc-Aurele.
'It's very disheartening to have everything come to an end.'
Local news in Florida also reported that employees at the Colonie location, which had been open for 24 years, were not notified in advance of the closure.
The chain is also known as a site for celebrations and parties - with Hollywood legend Sylvester Stallone even buying up a California location in 2009.
Buca di Beppo was founded in 1993 in Florida, and since 2008 has been a subsidiary of the Planet Hollywood chain.
There are now 44 remaining Buca di Beppo restaurants across the US. At its peak a decade ago there were more than 80.
According to local news reports, locations have also been shuttered in Maryland, Ohio and Hawaii earlier this year.
One that shut in 2016 was the location in Santa Monica in California. Modern Family actress Sofia Vergara was pictured there for a 'Meatballs 4 Ninos' charity event in 2013.
She had joined forces with Bucca di Beppo restaurants to raise funds and awareness for St Jude Children's Research Hospital.
A sign posted on the front door of the Sacramento location reads: 'We are thankful to you, our loyal guests, for giving us the opportunity to serve you.'
The chain is also known as a site for celebrations and parties - with Hollywood legend Sylvester Stallone even buying up a California location in 2009 (Pictured: Stallone alongside Charlie Sheen and Danny DeVito)
It comes as restaurants are increasingly closing across the country.
Earlier this week, a breakfast spot on the suburban outskirts of Chicago closed its doors Sunday after 65 years in business, reportedly because the landlord wanted to cash in.
Peter Gerousis, 43, who co-owned the Cozy Corner Restaurant in Oak Park, told the Chicago Sun-Times that even though business was booming, the decision to shut down was mandatory.
'The restaurant right now is the most successful it's ever been in 65 years — hands down,' Gerousis said. 'But our landlord felt it would be fair to double our rent.'
Denny's has also been shutting locations too.