The bankruptcy problems facing a major Applebee’s franchisee just deepened again. Court filings submitted this month show that NRPF Group Two—also known as Neighborhood Restaurant Partners Florida—is now seeking permission to close five additional restaurants across Florida and Georgia, expanding a wave of shutdowns that had already affected 10 locations earlier this year.
According to INC, the newly targeted restaurants are located in Orlando, Tampa, Maitland, Ocala, and Tifton, Georgia. In the filing, the Atlanta-based franchisee said the stores had “proved unprofitable” and asked the bankruptcy court to allow the company to reject the leases tied to those properties. Some of the restaurants appeared to remain open this week, though several were listed online as temporarily closed.
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The latest closures add another layer to the financial unraveling that began in March, when NRPF filed for Chapter 11 protection after years of declining performance. At the time, the company operated roughly 50 Applebee’s locations across Florida, Georgia, and Alabama…