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Cicis Pizza Has Filed For Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

Photo credit: Cicis Pizza - Facebook
Photo credit: Cicis Pizza - Facebook

From Delish

Cici's Holdings, the company behind Cicis, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this week, multiple outlets are reporting, as buffet-style restaurants continue to take a hit amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The chain's parent company filed a Chapter 11 declaration this week, according to Restaurant Business Online. It also negotiated a deal in order to sell itself to D&G Investors, which is its primary lender. The pizza chain, previously known as CiCi's Pizza, has 318 locations in 26 states, about half of the locations that it had at its peak of popularity in the early-mid 2000s. D&G Investors had previously acquired the company’s $82 million worth of debt in December 2020.

In court documents obtained by Restaurant Business, Chief Financial Officer Richard Peabody cited strain caused by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic "significantly disrupted Cici’s restaurant operations and severely limited customer demand."

However, the chain, which operates on an in-person, all-you-can-eat model had been already been trying to adjust to a changing restaurant landscape prior to the pandemic, with many people turning to food delivery, especially when it comes to pizza.

“This trend poses significant challenges to Cici’s all-you-can-eat buffet model, which depends on in-store dining for approximately 99% of its revenue,” Peabody said in the filing, according to RB.

According to the write-up of the court filing by Debtwire, Cici's said that it was forced to temporarily close 203 of its locations in March as the result of stay-at-home orders. They also permanently closed an additional 61 restaurants, cut executive pay by 25 percent, and let 39 corporate employees go.

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