Fast-food chain Carl’s Jr. will continue to cook up the “official burger” of the Phoenix Suns basketball team even though a bankrupt franchisee that bought that promotional right has fallen behind on monthly sponsorship payments, the <em>Wall Street Journal</em> Bankruptcy Beat blog reported yesterday. Lawyers who put the Carl’s Jr. franchisee, which operates 85 restaurants in Texas and Arizona, into chapter 11 last year have struck a deal with Phoenix Suns officials that will preserve the fast-food chain’s affiliation while it searches for buyers. The Carl’s Jr. operator, which is partly owned by founder Carl Karcher’s three grandchildren, made a sponsorship deal with the team in August 2013, giving it access to game tickets, advertising in programs, mentions during games and appearances by players, dancers and the Suns Gorilla team mascot. Carl’s Jr. also sponsors the Phoenix Mercury women’s basketball team. That sponsorship deal happened well before the franchise hit financial troubles so deep that it needed to turn to bankruptcy. Frontier Star LLC filed for chapter 11 protection in July, blaming escalating food costs, minimum wage increases and the financial consequences of the Affordable Care Act.
