The painful impact of the pandemic on the restaurant industry was made all too clear last week when all-you-can-eat chain Old Country Buffet filed for bankruptcy for the fourth time since 2008, Bloomberg reported. Like many eateries, Old Country and its affiliates struggled as COVID-19 lockdowns kept restaurant-goers at home. Another all-you-can-eat chain, CiCi’s Holdings Inc., sought chapter 11 protection in January. The pandemic was hard on restaurants that counted on the sale of alcohol and soft drinks, a low cost but lucrative item for casual dining spots. Ruby Tuesday Inc., California Pizza Kitchen Inc. and Friendly’s Restaurants LLC are among the chains that filed for bankruptcy last year as COVID-19 spread. Old Country Buffet’s most recent chapter 11 filing makes it a rare instance of a so-called chapter 44 filer, industry parlance for a company that seeks bankruptcy four times. It had managed to stay out of bankruptcy since 2016 after previously filing in 2012 and 2008. The amount of traded distressed bonds and loans rose to about $90 billion as of April 23, up 1.6% week-on-week, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Troubled bonds grew 1.9% while distressed loans rose 0.6%. It’s the first time the weekly tally of distressed debt outstanding has risen this month.
