Logan's Roadhouse has filed for bankruptcy and will close 18 underperforming restaurants, the Nashville-based restaurant chain announced Monday.
Logan's, which operates local steakhouses in Hixson, East Brainerd, Fort Oglethorpe, Lookout Valley, Cleveland, Tenn., and Dalton, Ga., said Monday it "will be closing 18 underperforming restaurants as part of the overall efforts to improve the company's financial performance."
The company did not disclose what restaurants will close, but said "a plan is in place to assist employees in closing restaurants, reassigning employees to other Logan's restaurants and providing them with outplacement services."
The company's CEO Sam Borgese will step down effective immediately as well. Borgese was named CEO in October 2014.
While the chain is headquartered in Nashville, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Delaware, where it is incorporated. The parent company of the steakhouse chain has secured $25 million in bankruptcy financing for its restructuring plan, court records show. The bankruptcy filing comes after a tough first half of 2016 for the chain which saw traffic fall by 8.8 percent and sales fall by 4 percent.
The chain has about 250 restaurants in 50 states with 18,964 employees, including 1,002 full-time workers and more than 25 stores in Tennessee.
As of the end of October last year, Logan's had $12.9 million in cash and $525.4 million in liabilities.
Assets were estimated at between $100 million and $500 million, and the company has as many as 25,000 creditors. Logan's has about $416 million in debts, almost all of which is secured. Real estate investment trust National Retail Properties leads all other creditors and is owed more than $52,000, according to court filings.