Popeyes franchisee sells 97 Florida restaurants after bankruptcy filing
Sailormen lined up buyers for 97 Florida Popeyes restaurants after bankruptcy, even as 20 stores had already closed and the portfolio shrank to 116.
Sailormen Inc. has lined up buyers for 97 Florida Popeyes restaurants after its Chapter 11 filing put 136 locations in Florida and Georgia under strain. The Miami-based franchisee, which dates to 1987, estimated about $130 million in debt and has already seen 20 Popeyes units close.
Chipotle Mexican Grill had 4,056 restaurants as of Dec. 31, 2025, including 4,042 company-owned units and 14 international partner-operated restaurants, after opening 334 company-owned restaurants in 2025, 257 with Chipotlanes. Crew members are not exposed to a franchisee suddenly trying to unload dozens of stores, but they are still exposed to corporate decisions on labor, scheduling and capital spending.
Inflation, higher borrowing costs, higher wages and softer traffic after the pandemic squeezed Sailormen's books. A planned 2023 sale of 16 Georgia restaurants to Tar Heels Spice fell through, then BMO Bank sued in December 2025 over loan obligations. The operator filed Chapter 11 on Jan. 16 in the Southern District of Florida. Peter Perdue, president of Popeyes U.S. and Canada, told franchisees in an internal memo that most of Sailormen's restaurants would stay open and that the filing did not reflect the brand's health. Even so, 20 Popeyes restaurants in Florida and Georgia closed after the filing, and Sailormen's portfolio fell to 116 units.
Missed maintenance, abrupt staffing cuts, late deliveries from vendors and rumors about a sale or refinance usually show up before schedules tighten or doors close. When ownership changes, employees should ask whether their store is part of a transfer, whether seniority and benefits move with it, and whether hours are being cut while the deal is still pending.
Chipotle had $11.9 billion in 2025 revenue, a 16.2% operating margin and a 25.4% restaurant-level operating margin, while digital sales made up 37.2% of total food and beverage revenue in the fourth quarter. Chipotle is aiming for 7,000 restaurants in North America.
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