One of the largest Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen franchise operators in the United States is navigating the final stages of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filed in January 2026. The fried chicken franchise brand continues to operate through other franchisees, but Sailormen, Inc., a Miami-based operator that once ran close to 130 restaurants across Florida and Georgia, has seen 52 locations fail to attract buyers at auction and 18 others cleared for closure by a federal judge.
Sailormen filed for Chapter 11 protection on January 15, 2026, listing obligations to between 200 and 999 creditors. At the time of filing, the company employed approximately 2,200 workers across its restaurant network. BMO holds the primary secured debt position, with roughly $130 million in outstanding obligations. The case is being heard in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida.
18 Locations Approved for Closure Across Florida and Georgia
A bankruptcy judge has granted Sailormen permission to reject the leases tied to 18 restaurant locations, all of which are expected to close by the end of June 2026. The affected restaurants are spread across Florida cities including Jacksonville, Pensacola, Gainesville, St. Petersburg, and Bradenton, as well as locations in Cairo and Brunswick, Georgia. In court filings, the company’s attorneys cited ongoing liquidity pressures as the primary justification for requesting rapid lease rejections, noting that continuing to operate the unsold locations was consuming court-approved bankruptcy funding.
The closures follow an auction process in which Sailormen offered its portfolio in regional groups. Approved buyers in that process include SBH Foods, 61 Biscuits, RFI Ventures, LLC, and Pulse Restaurant Group. A second court hearing, scheduled for June 26, 2026, is expected to address the fate of the remaining contested locations.
52 Locations Found No Buyers at Auction
According to court documents reviewed by Fast Company, approximately 52 Popeyes locations received no bids during the bankruptcy auction process. Sailormen subsequently filed an expedited motion on June 19, 2026, seeking authority to exit the leases associated with those properties. The motion was driven in part by the financial drag these locations placed on the overall restructuring.
The proceedings have not been without dispute. RFI Ventures, LLC formally objected to a portion of the proposed lease rejections, arguing that several Orlando-area restaurants listed in the motion had already been transferred to RFI as part of a prior court-approved sale. The buyer contended that those locations should not be subject to further closure proceedings, adding a layer of complexity to what was expected to be a straightforward wind-down.
A Significant Collapse for the Quick-Service Franchise Sector
Popeyes, which operates more than 3,000 locations across the United States, has seen several of its franchisee partners face financial difficulty in recent years, a pattern shared across the quick-service restaurant sector amid persistent cost pressures on food, labor, and rent. The Sailormen case stands out for its scale: with close to 130 locations and more than $130 million in secured debt, it represents one of the more consequential franchise restructurings in the brand’s history.
The outcome of the June 26 hearing is expected to determine whether additional closures follow or whether the remaining unsold locations can be transferred to new operators. The case is being closely watched by multi-unit franchise investors and lenders active in the quick-service sector.
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