A major Popeyes franchisee out of Florida is seeking debt protection. | Photo: Shutterstock.
A large Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen franchisee filed for bankruptcy on Thursday as a heavy debt load and a failed sale of 16 of its restaurants led to a major cash crunch and a lawsuit from the company’s lender.
Sailormen Inc., a Miami-based franchisee that dates to 1987 and operates 130 locations, has about $130 million worth of debt.
The company in court filings blamed a host of factors, including the impact of the pandemic, inflation, rising borrowing rates and labor challenges for the filing. The franchisee also started falling behind on rent and faced legal challenges from landlords and vendors as well as its lender.
Peter Perdue, president of Popeyes in the U.S. and Canada, said in a note seen by Restaurant Business that Sailormen’s filing does not reflect the state of the brand or its profitability.
He said in the note that the franchisee has “more leverage than is common in our current Popeyes system.”
“Sailormen has been a successful, growth-oriented franchise organization for many years in our system,” Perdue said in the note. “A large majority of their restaurants are very profitable, in line with our system average (and some above average).”
“I can confidently tell you that Sailormen’s announcement does not reflect the healthy unit economics that you are experiencing in your restaurants,” he added.
Still, the filing comes at a tumultuous time for Popeyes in the U.S. The chain’s same-store sales declined each of the first three quarters of 2025, a surprise for a brand that had previously been on a growth tear. That prompted Restaurant Brands International, Popeyes’ parent company, to name a new brand president in Perdue in November.
On Monday, the chain named Matt Rubin its new chief marketing officer as part of a “reset” of the company’s senior leadership team.
Sailormen’s financial challenges have mounted over the past year, according to court filings.
The franchisee, which is owned by a company called Interfoods of America, had a deal in 2023 to sell 16 restaurants in Georgia to a company called Tar Heels Spice in a bid to improve its finances. That deal fell through, prompting Sailormen to file a lawsuit but leaving the franchisee liable for the leases on those locations. That worsened Sailormen’s financial challenges.
Sailormen has faced a number of other lawsuits from vendors, such as one by an IT services company accusing the franchisee of falling behind on payments as far back as 2022.
BMO, Sailormen’s lender, sued the franchisee last month and moved to appoint a federal receiver that would have replaced the operator’s management. Sailormen said in a filing that it and creditors “will fare better in a Chapter 11 case” with existing management in control.
The operator said that it faced “increasing pressure from landlords, vendors and BMO” and ultimately decided to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection before an expected ruling this week on the lender’s request for a receiver.
Perdue in his note to the system said a “large majority” of the restaurants operated by Sailormen will remain open. “While no one wants to find themselves in a process like this, we certainly believe that a large majority of their restaurants will continue to operate in the Popeyes system,” he said. “We are supporting them in every way we can through this process and believe in them as brand and operational leaders in our system.”
Perdue in his note also said that “the fundamentals are all in place” for the brand to recover from its tough 2025 and that it needs “more clear and consistent focus, not reinvention,” which prompted the leadership team changes.
“I strongly believe we will find success in the core of what we have always been great at—hand-battered, bone-in chicken,” Perdue said. “We have the menu and pricing power to offer our guests strong, everyday value options. And we have powerful platforms in tenders and sandwiches that will continue to deliver growth.”
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Restaurant Business Editor-in-Chief Jonathan Maze is a longtime industry journalist who writes about restaurant finance, mergers and acquisitions and the economy, with a particular focus on quick-service restaurants.
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