Rubie's Coastal Grill, a popular Mexican food restaurant chain, on June 1 abruptly closed 48 locations in California (US), including 13 in San Diego. The company attributed the closures to high costs and the current business climate in that region of the country.
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“Making the decision to close a store is never easy. “Rubio's Coastal Grill, home of the Original Fish Taco, has decided, after a comprehensive review of its operations and the current business climate, to close 48 underperforming locations in California,” a company spokesperson initially noted, citing NBC News.
Following this announcement, the company issued a press release this week and confirmed that it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. He also confirmed that it will enter into a court-supervised sale, which it hopes will take place within a month and a half. The goal is to be able to continue working while this process progresses.
The Chapter 11 petition, filed Wednesday in Delaware, states that Rubio's Restaurants has assets between $10 million and $15 million, while its liabilities are estimated at between $100 million and $500 million. California Excelsior said the number of creditors could reach 25,000, the company said in the document.
He then added: “Among the top 30 creditors is its lender, TREW Capital Management, with an unsecured claim of about $28 million. The list also includes the California Department of Taxes and Fees, San Diego Gas & Electric Company, Southern California Edison, and the San Diego County Treasurer.” , and the tax collector, who owed more than $74,000.
The company stressed that the goal of this decision, which it indicated was not easy to make, was to avoid a more complex financial situation in the future. Likewise, he confirmed that he would still keep 86 restaurants in three states operational.
Although the company did not report any mass layoffs, the Los Angeles Times noted that several employees said on social media that they had been notified by phone that their jobs were ending, while others reported that they had received no notification.
Rubio's was founded in 1983 by Ralph Rubio, who discovered fish tacos after visiting the city of San Felipe, Baja California, and decided to open a restaurant in his hometown, San Diego. The company expanded and opened several locations in Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Colorado and Florida, but the pandemic affected it greatly and it went from 200 restaurants to 86.
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