Checkers Drive-In Restaurants Inc. is turning to financial advisers to navigate the coronavirus pandemic’s impact on a business model that was already deteriorating, the Wall Street Journal reported. The burger chain, owned by private-equity firm Oak Hill Capital Partners, hired investment bank Miller Buckfire & Co. and turnaround adviser Mackinac Partners to explore a potential restructuring. The company, which operates restaurants under the Checkers and Rally’s brand names, was a bright spot among chain restaurants when Oak Hill bought it in 2017, with same-store sale growth of over 3 percent. Its main selling point: inexpensive yet indulgent burgers like the “Big Buford” and the “Roadhouse Baconzilla.” Checkers has close to $300 million in debt stemming from the buyout. Most of the company’s nearly 900 locations are franchised. The Checkers division had 584 U.S. locations last year, 79 percent which were franchised, according to food-service industry research firm Technomic Inc. Last year, Oak Hill injected $25 million into the company, while lenders temporarily suspended interest payments on close to $90 million in loans, according to Moody’s Corp.
