The past year has been brutal in the restaurant world. Due to various factors, mainly inflation, 2024 saw the most restaurant bankruptcies in decades, minus 2020. Now, just a few months into 2025, a few restaurants have already filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Sticky Fingers, a South Carolina-based barbeque restaurant, is the latest chain to suffer financial distress. Here is what you need to know about it, including how it will impact the brand overall.
Sticky Fingers Filed for Chapter 11 Protection
Sticky Fingers, which operates four locations in Greenville, North Charleston, and Summerville, S.C., and Chattanooga, Tenn., filed for Chapter 11 protection this week. Court documents maintain that the Greenville, S.C.-based chain has up to $50,000 in assets and $1 million to $10 million in liabilities. According to Post & Courier, the filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Columbia applies only to the Greenville and Chattanooga locations and not the locations in North Charleston and Summerville.
The Chain Has Been Around Since 1992 and Once Operated 15 Restaurants
The chain was started in 1992 by founders Todd Eischeid, Jeff Goldstein, and Chad Walldorf, who eventually sold the company. The brand changed ownership many times. At one point, there were 15 Sticky Fingers restaurants, 11 of which operated in South Carolina, Tennessee, and Florida before the COVID-19 pandemic.
They Have Admitted to Past Problems
“Inconsistent leadership led to a decline in food quality and service and eventually a decline in sales. The company began closing restaurants. In 2019, under new leadership, Sticky Fingers started making great strides in improving food quality and modernizing menus and plateware. Unfortunately, the economic impacts of COVID-19 put a halt to those improvements and the difficult decision was made to close 9 of the 11 remaining restaurants,” reads the Sticky Fingers website. Since then, two more have opened.
The Attorney States It Has to Do with Financial Distress From the Pandemic and Inflation
“Like thousands of businesses throughout the country that suffered through the COVID pandemic, so did Sticky Fingers,” said Upstate bankruptcy attorney Robert H. Cooper, who represents the two restaurants being restructured that are owned by Sticky Fingers Acquisitions LLC. “Add to that the increased cost of food products, gasoline and other overhead, and the result is the need for a business reorganization of financial commitments.”
On the Border Filed for Chapter 11 in 2025
Mexican chain On the Border filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier this month, after closing over 12 restaurants nationwide. According to data, the chain operates half as many restaurants as it did at the end of 2023.
Red Lobster Filed for Bankruptcy in May 2024
Another large chain who filed for bankruptcy in 2024? Red Lobster. In their Chapter 11 bankruptcy, they revealed that 580 restaurants would remain open through the restructuring process. “This restructuring is the best path forward for Red Lobster. It allows us to address several financial and operational challenges and emerge stronger and re-focused on our growth. The support we’ve received from our lenders and vendors will help ensure that we can complete the sale process quickly and efficiently while remaining focused on our employees and guests,” CEO Jonathan Tibus said at the time. By September, they managed to exit Chapter 11, “stronger, more resilient, and ready for a bright new chapter,” they said on social media at the time.
TGI Fridays Filed for Bankruptcy in November 2024
In November 2024, TGI Friday’s confirmed it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The chain maintained that it only impacted the chain’s 39 company-owned locations and confirmed it had secured funding to keep those restaurants operational throughout the Chapter 11 process.
Leah Groth
Leah Groth has decades of experience covering all things health, wellness and fitness related. Read more about Leah
