Sbarro Inc., the pizza chain often found in shopping mall food courts, received a U.S. bankruptcy judge's approval yesterday to move forward with a restructuring plan that will allow it to end its second bankruptcy in three years, Reuters reported yesterday. Bankruptcy Judge Martin Glenn signed an order approving a plan by Sbarro to cut its $148 million debt load by more than 85 percent, to about $20 million. Founded in 1956, the Melville, N.Y.-based Sbarro had tried to boost sales by revamping recipes to entice diners who increasingly favor "fast casual" chains such as Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. and Panera Bread Co. But an "unprecedented decline in mall traffic" and an "unsustainable" balance sheet necessitated a restructuring, including the closure of hundreds of restaurants, the company said in court papers when it filed for bankruptcy in March. Sbarro entered chapter 11 with a pre-packaged restructuring plan that already had the backing of many of its creditors. In a parallel restructuring option, it also explored auctioning its assets but, drawing no bidders, went ahead with the prepackaged restructuring.
