This week has been terrible for America’s restaurant chains.
Last Monday one of America’s better known pizza franchises, Sbarro, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Soon following in its wake on Friday, another famous food chain, the sub shop Quiznos, made official that it too will slide into bankruptcy as a part of a “packaged” deal to “slice” its crushing debt by hopefully more than $400 million, or about two-thirds.
But do not fear for your local lunch options, though. All but seven of Quiznos’ approximately 2,000 locations are franchises. As these are independently owned and operated establishments, they will continue to be open as normal while the Quiznos as a parent company undergoes a some major changes.
“The actions we are taking are intended to enable Quiznos to reduce our debt, execute a comprehensive plan to further enhance the customer experience, elevate the profile of the brand and help increase sales and profits for our franchise owners,” Quiznos C.E.O. Stuart Mathis was quoted in a press release. “Our business plan includes several key elements aimed at supporting our franchisees, including reducing food costs, implementing a franchise owner rebate program, in certain circumstances making loans available to franchisees for restaurant improvements, investing in advertising to improve location awareness, and providing new incentives for prospective franchisees.”
Mr. Mathis and the entirety of Quiznos higher up’s hope that this bankruptcy filing will aid them in finalizing new policies and standards that will turn around a failing business. While other fast food yet casual chains, like Chipotle and Panera Bread still thrive and grow, companies like Sbarro and Quiznos have not been able to change to new customer trends and palates.