Well, here’s a bit of déjà vu in the business world that’s turning heads. Miracle Restaurant Group, the folks running about 25 Arby’s restaurants across Illinois, Indiana, Texas, Mississippi, and Louisiana, have found themselves in a financial pickle—again. Yep, they’ve filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy for the second time. Talk about a rough ride, right?
So, what’s going on? It’s a mix of weak sales, high operating costs, and a less-than-rosy merger and acquisition market for restaurants. Basically, the perfect storm for financial woes. And let’s not forget the delay in tax refunds that’s just adding salt to the wound. They’re still waiting on a cool $3.5 million in Employee Retention Tax Credit refunds from 2021. Ouch!
It all started with the pandemic, which isn’t much of a surprise. COVID-19 was tough on everyone, especially the restaurant industry. Costs went up dramatically due to inflation, and that’s been a hard hit for Miracle. They even tried to offload some of their spots in Illinois and Texas, hoping to lighten the load, but no dice. Negative EBITDA meant buyers just weren’t that interested.