The Texas-based operator of the Furr’s Fresh Buffet restaurant chain filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy on Tuesday, citing a surprising culprit for the move — the brutal winter weather, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Already crunched for cash by an effort to overhaul its restaurants, located throughout the Southwest, Buffet Partners LP said the December storm that brought ice and sleet to North Texas, leaving tens of thousands of people without power and stranding drivers, put a chill on its business. Buffet Partners, of Plano, Texas, said that it would use the breathing room of bankruptcy to restructure a debt load that tops $40 million. The chain, which employs more than 2,000 people, plans to continue operating its 29 restaurants in Arizona, Arkansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas during the chapter 11 case.
