More Popeyes locations have closed after a major franchisee filed for bankruptcy earlier this year.
Sailormen Inc., which manages 136 Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen locations in Georgia and Florida, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January. More than a dozen of company’s restaurants closed in the wake of the filing. However, the franchisee closed three locations before filing for bankruptcy, though the closures were only revealed in a recent filing, according to Newsweek.
In the March 10 filing, Sailormen Inc. sought to reject the unexpired leases of the chicken chain’s shuttered locations, all of which were in Georgia.
The court filing said the three closures would “reduce the Debtor’s SG&A [selling, general and administrative] and restaurant level expenses annually by over $1 million,” according to the report.
The Independent has contacted Popeyes for comment.
Sailormen Inc. cited inflation, the COVID-19 pandemic and the “increasingly limited qualified labor force” in court documents related to the bankruptcy that were filed in the Southern District of Florida.
Sailormen Inc. was founded in 1984, and at one point operated stores in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Missouri and Mississippi, according to the court filings.
However, many of its locations were sold between 2012 and 2018. The franchisee also tried to sell 16 locations in 2023, but that deal fell through.
Peter Perdue, the president of Popeyes in the U.S. and Canada, said in January that a “large majority” of restaurants operated by Sailormen Inc. are likely to remain open, according to a note reviewed by Restaurant Business.
“Sailormen has been a successful, growth-oriented franchise organization for many years in our system. A large majority of their restaurants are very profitable, in line with our system average (and some above average),” he said.
The news follows closures of several other fast food chains, including drive-through chain Salad and Go, which shuttered all 25 remaining Texas locations, along with 11 stores in Oklahoma.
Colorado-based Noodles & Company recently announced it expects to close up to 35 restaurants in 2026, after closing 33 in 2025.
Burger chain Jack in the Box also closed dozens of underperforming restaurants across the U.S. last year.
