Italian restaurant chain Bertucci’s filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in late April for the third time since 2018.
The Massachusetts-based business, which has locations along the East Coast and is best known for its brick oven pizza and pasta, has closed seven underperforming locations – five in Massachusetts, one in Rhode Island and one in Maryland.
ITALIAN RESTAURANT CHAIN FILES FOR BANKRUPTCY AGAIN, CLOSES LOCATIONS
The chain was founded in 1981 by Joseph Crugnale, an Italian immigrant. By 1989, USA Today ranked it one of America’s top 10 pizza restaurants. Expansion soon followed, and by the end of the 2000s, it had approximately 100 locations.
The restaurant chain hopes bankruptcy will provide the business with a “breathing spell” so it can “determine the best path forward and formulate an overall reorganizational plan,” it said in the filing.
In its filing, the company said, “With losses accumulating, inflationary pressures still high, and industry headwinds gusting, the proverbial final straw fell on [Bertucci’s] this year as the world saw food costs soar, consumer spending slow, and an uncertain global economy falling in (and out) of decline.”
In April 2018, Bertucci’s filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and closed 15 restaurants. In December 2022, amid challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic like the closure of restaurants and high inflation, it declared bankruptcy for a second time and streamlined operations to 23 locations, according to the filing.
FAST-FOOD CHAIN CLOSING UP TO 200 ‘UNDERPERFORMING’ LOCATIONS
As financial pressures continue to mount, the restaurant is left with a total of 15 locations. Here is where they are located:
Massachusetts (10 locations)
- Boston (Bertucci’s Pronto – fast-casual format)
- Chelmsford
- Chestnut Hill (West Roxbury)
- Framingham
- Hingham
- Medford
- Newton
- Reading
- Waltham
- Westborough
Maryland (1 location)
Connecticut (1 location)
Delaware (1 location)
Pennsylvania (1 location)
Virginia (1 location)
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