Roughly three months after emerging from bankruptcy, the owner of the Johnny Carino’s chain of 36 Italian restaurants has filed for bankruptcy again, blaming Obamacare and the sluggish oil industry, the Austin (Texas) Business Journal reported yesterday. The company, Fired Up Inc., filed for chapter 11 protection, which came about three-and-a-half months after it emerged from a two-year chapter 11 bankruptcy case on March 31. Among its debts, the company owes an estimated $19 million to its creditors and roughly $905,000 in back wages, vacation time and bonuses to its employees, plus back taxes and lease obligations. It has roughly $3.5 million in assets, not including trademarks and other intellectual property. A meeting of creditors has been scheduled for Aug. 16. Even as it was going through reorganization, the company was struggling to keep current on its operating expenses and debt payments and was losing revenue. Gross sales for 2016 are expected to be $74 million.
