Subchapter V Bankruptcy for Restaurants
One slow season can put a restaurant months behind, with the landlord filing, the food distributor freezing your account, and the equipment lender circling the ovens. Subchapter V bankruptcy stops all of that the day we file and folds the whole pile into one plan you can pay while the kitchen stays open.
Reorganize without going dark
Restaurants live on next week's covers, so a bad stretch of weather, a health scare, or a rent bump can swallow a year of profit in a single month. Subchapter V lets you keep cooking while a court-approved plan spreads the back rent, the vendor balances, and the equipment notes across payments the dining room can actually cover.
Restaurant debts we restructure
- Back rent and money owed on the space itself
- Food, liquor, and produce distributor balances
- Financing on ovens, hoods, walk-ins, and the line
- POS, delivery-app, and daily merchant cash advance debt
- Unpaid payroll and sales tax (this piece needs careful handling, and we do it right)
- Pandemic-era SBA and EIDL loans still on the books
How Subchapter V helps restaurants
- Keep serving customers while the reorganization runs
- Freeze eviction filings and distributor lawsuits the moment the case opens
- Spread vendor and equipment balances across a plan the covers can support
- Assume a lease worth keeping or hand back one that is sinking you
- Run your own kitchen as the owner from filing to discharge
How it works
A clear path for restaurant owners.
-
1
Step 1 of 4
Free consultation
We sit down with your lease, your distributor accounts, and last year's numbers to see whether Subchapter V is the right call or another chapter fits your restaurant better.
-
2
Step 2 of 4
File and stop collections
The case opens, the automatic stay kicks in, and the landlord, the distributors, and the collectors all have to back off while you keep the lights on.
-
3
Step 3 of 4
Build the plan
We draft a repayment plan, usually three to five years, sized to what a realistic night of covers actually brings in.
-
4
Step 4 of 4
Stay open
Once the court signs off, you fund the plan out of daily sales and come through it still running the place.
Common questions about Subchapter V for Restaurants
Can I keep my liquor license?
Usually. A Subchapter V filing does not by itself pull your liquor license, but licenses ride on staying current with the state and the town, so we map those obligations out early and keep the license clear of the fight over debt.
What happens to my lease?
The kitchen build-out is probably worth more where it sits than anywhere else, so if the space still works we push to keep the lease on better terms. If the rent no longer matches the covers, Subchapter V lets you hand it back and cap what the landlord can claim.
Will my food and beverage vendors walk away?
Filing halts their lawsuits and gives them an orderly payout through the plan, which most distributors prefer over writing off a closed account. In practice, the reps you order from every week tend to keep delivering.
What about outstanding gift cards and deposits?
Gift cards and event deposits become claims in the case, and the plan sets how they get honored. We usually structure it so regulars keep redeeming and you hold onto the goodwill that fills tables.