More than 140 Pizza Hut restaurants at risk as franchise owner files for bankruptcy

More than 140 Pizza Hut restaurants are astatine consequence aft nan franchisee that runs them revenge for bankruptcy. 

It is each linked to a awesome financial bust-up betwixt nan pizza giant's genitor institution and EYM Group, which operates nan 142 locations crossed 5 states successful nan South and nan Midwest. 

EYM - founded by erstwhile McDonald’s Mexico president Eduardo Diaz - revenge for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection successful nan Eastern District of Texas connected Monday. It owes Pizza Hut $2.25 million, and different $21 cardinal to Manufacturers Bank.  

Some 15 Pizza Hut locations that EYM runs in Indiana and Ohio were abruptly shuttered astatine nan extremity of June.  

Now a further 127 crossed Illinois, Georgia, South Carolina and Wisconsin are connected nan brink of shutting arsenic portion of nan dispute. 

EYM is being sued by nan concatenation successful narration to millions of dollars of unpaid bills. 

Meanwhile, EYM has blamed Pizza Hut for its financial problems. It says its income person been severely deed by nan pizza concatenation not modernising its menus aliases app to support up pinch rivals for illustration Domino's and Little Caesar's.

Overall, Pizza Hut's US restaurants person seen income gaffe 6 percent this twelvemonth compared to last. 

Staff astatine Pizza Huts successful Indiana posted connected societal media that they were fixed nary informing up of nan closures. They said they had been told to record for unemployment. 

A Pizza Hut spokesperson said: 'The institution is moving to modulation these locations and expects galore of them will reopen soon.'

Pizza Hut had group EYM staggered deadlines for costs successful each state. The concatenation had warned it adjacent down nan restaurants successful each if nan debts are not paid. 

The deadline for Indiana was June 12. The 15 restaurants were shuttered 2 days later.

They were successful Cedar Lake, Chesterton, Crown Point, Griffith, Hammond, Hobart, LaPorte, Lowell, Merrillville, Michigan City, Munster, Portage, Schererville, Valparaiso and Winfield. 

EYM, a Texas-based franchisee, was founded successful 2008. Problems betwixt it and Pizza Hut - which has 6,700 locations crossed nan US - day backmost to past year.  It has been operating Pizza Hut restaurants since 2015.

As portion of nan dispute, EYM sued Pizza Hut too. That lawsuit has now been thrown retired but tribunal papers claimed that Pizza Hut had 'not kept up pinch nan dense title from its competitors, [such as] Dominos, Little Caesars.'

'In caller years, nan champion Pizza Hut managed to do is change nan food successful its stuffed crust from mozzarella to cheddar aliases trot retired an occasional, ill-fated appetizer liked nan Philly steak melt,' EYM added.

These 'failed strategies' caused Pizza Hut to suffer customers and not pull caller ones. 

On apical of this, ERM past suffered erstwhile nan costs of ingredients were severely deed by ostentation which eroded profit margins. 

Pizza Hut, owned by Yum Brands Inc., operates done respective franchisees nationwide.

Across America, restaurants person progressively been struggling this year. Faced pinch higher costs, they person put up paper prices - but that has led to a autumn successful customers. 

Bigger chains for illustration Applebee's, TGI Fridays and Boston Market person have each precocious shuttered restaurants, arsenic person smaller chains for illustration BurgerFi. 

Red Lobster revenge for bankruptcy successful May and besides shuttered almost 100 restaurants.  

Chains person been worst deed successful California wherever nan minimum costs for accelerated nutrient restaurants jumped to $20-an-hour from April 1. 

In early June, Mexican concatenation Rubio's unopen 48 locations in nan authorities and besides revenge for bankruptcy. 

Across America, mom-and-pop operations person besides been shutting.

Earlier this month, for example, Fargo's Pit BBQ successful Texas closed aft much than 2 decades of serving brisket, ribs and other barbecue classics.