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Salad and Go Files Chapter 11 and Will Close All Locations

The Arizona-born drive-thru chain says it will use a court-supervised wind down after weak customer demand, rising costs, past rapid expansion, plus a summer Cyclospora scare hurt the business

Overview

  • The company disclosed on Aug. 4 that it filed voluntary Chapter 11 petitions in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas and will serve its final customers on Aug. 5.
  • Salad and Go said it will close roughly 70 remaining drive-thru locations across Arizona and Nevada and that Chapter 11 will allow an orderly realization of assets and payment of obligations.
  • Company leaders cited sustained pressure on consumer demand, rising operating costs, and problems tied to an earlier fast national expansion under private equity ownership as the main business challenges.
  • The July Cyclospora outbreak, which did not implicate Salad and Go, was singled out by the company as a factor that weakened customer confidence and compounded sales declines.
  • The shutdown affects employees, suppliers and local customers after the chain served more than 60 million meals since its 2013 founding in Gilbert and earlier contracted from 140-plus stores through multiple rounds of closures.