The popular southern burger chain Hwy 55 Burgers, Shakes & Fries has filed for bankruptcy, sparking fears of mass closures.
The Little Mint, Inc. – the parent company of the restaurant – headquartered in Mount Olive, North Carolina, filed its petition on December 31, citing financial distress and labor shortages from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The company operates 22 corporate-owned locations and an additional 71 franchised locations in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia.
Prior to filing for Chapter 11 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, the company closed 13 corporate-owned locations.
The debtor listed $1million to $10million in assets and $10million to $50million in liabilities in its petition, The Street reported.
The burger company has estimated that it has approximately $11million in secured debt and another $5.8million in unsecured debt.
The chain has long focused on strip mall locations, but in 2018 Hwy 55, switched to stand-alone operations, which include drive-thru windows, according to Bondoro.
This is just the latest chain to struggle to cope with the aftershocks of the pandemic, which caused labor issues, inflation and a change to how Americans dine out.
Hwy 55 Burgers, Shakes & Fries has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, sparking fear of mass closures
The company operates 22 corporate-owned locations and an additional 71 franchised locations in the south, and sells an array of burgers, cheesesteaks, frozen custard, and more
Although the company raked in $24.4million in revenue in 2023, the burger joint suffered net losses that year and in 2022.
One location in Murfreesboro, Tennessee closed within months of opening, and is no longer listed on the company’s website.
The restaurant officially opened its doors on September 17, but by mid-December it was no more. The company said that the location has undergone a ‘change in leadership,’ WGNS reported.
The closure came soon after it was revealed that Little Mint, Inc. employed children outside of allowed hours and assigned them ‘dangerous tasks,’ according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
The owner, Kenny Moore, ‘entered an enhanced compliance agreement’ with the agency in March 2024, after discovering that the company employed 13 children to work past 7pm between Labor day and June 1.
The company also had children working more than three hours on a school day, which is in violation of child labor laws, the department found.
Kenny Moore founded the company in 1991, beginning as the restaurant Andy’s Cheesesteaks & Cheeseburgers before rebranding in 2012
Moore founded the company in 1991, beginning as the restaurant Andy’s Cheesesteaks & Cheeseburgers.
By 2012, the company was renamed Hwy 55 Burgers, Shakes & Fries, which sells an array of burgers, cheesesteaks, chicken fingers, frozen custard, salads and more.
A beloved sandwich chain made famous by Diners, Drive-in and Dives recently shut down after it was unable to recover from Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Melt Bar and Grilled owner Matt Fish announced via Facebook on New Year’s Day that the remaining restaurant was shutting for good.
Fish opened the first one in 2006 in Lakewood, Ohio, and by 2013 it was winning industry awards for its fancy grilled cheese sandwiches and craft beers. At its peak there were 13 locations in the state.
Fish was featured on the iconic Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives show with Guy Fieri on Food Network.
He also appeared alongside Happy Days actor Henry Winkler on Fox 8 News, one of his many appearances in local media.
Melt Bar and Grilled owner Matt Fish announced via Facebook on New Year’s Day that the remaining restaurant was shutting for good
Fish was featured on iconic Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives show with Guy Fieri on Food Network. (Pictured: One of Melt Bar & Grilled famous sandwiches)
But in June – by then down to four locations – Melt filed for bankruptcy and warned it was struggling to pay its landlords and suppliers.
And by September, the chain had scaled back to its original Lakewood location following the closures of its Independence, Akron, and Mentor stores.
The company decided to focus on that one location, and it was relaunched after a renovation and rebranding.
But in the Facebook post on New Year’s Day, Fish said the relaunched restaurant simply did not sell enough sandwiches to keep going.
‘All aspects of the relaunch succeeded according to plan except one: the projected robust business levels never happened,’ he wrote.
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