Meridian Restaurants, a US-based company that was established in 2002, filed for bankruptcy in March of this year and is currently in the process of closing 27 of its 116 units.
According to reports, the affected locations are situated in Minnesota, Utah, Montana, Kansas, Nebraska, and North Dakota.
A significant number of these restaurants are situated in small towns, such as Lewiston, Montana, which has a population of around 6,000 residents and is located 126 miles north of Billings.
The franchisee has not ruled out the possibility of additional closures, stating that it is “possible, if not likely,” that further analysis may indicate that more closures are “appropriate.”
In a filing, the company stated that it does not expect to close “all or even a significant portion” of its restaurants.
Meridian and its advisors are currently in negotiations with landlords regarding rent concessions and operational improvements.
“It will be in the debtors’ best interest not to conduct store closings at most of its locations,” the company said in a filing.
Initially, on March 29th, the company requested court approval to close 23 restaurants. However, last week, it added four more locations to the closure list.
Meridian had a total of 120 restaurants under its operation, a majority of which were acquired while they were struggling. The company believed that these locations had the potential to be turned around.
