The corporate parent of the Perkins and Marie Callender’s restaurant chains is closing stores and putting the operation up for sale in bankruptcy, in an effort to pay off more than $114 million owed to senior lenders, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The Memphis, Tenn.-based company owns, operates or franchises more than 400 outlets in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. It closed 11 Perkins and 21 Marie Callender’s restaurants before filing for protection from creditors Monday. It also operates the Foxtail Foods bakery goods manufacturing business, which supplies its restaurants and sells to outside distributors. An offer is in hand for Perkins and some of the Foxtail business, but talks continue about nailing down a buyer for Marie Callender and all of the Foxtail operation, court papers say. The bankruptcy auction timeline calls for competitive bidding in September, with deals to close within 75 days of the filing.
