Abuelo’s Files Chapter 11: What It Means for Amarillo

It's definitely been a tough last couple of years for restaurants and businesses around Amarillo. Some of them have been able to recover from the economy; others weren't so lucky. Now, we find ourselves with ANOTHER restaurant that is in a bit of trouble.

The good news is the restaurant isn't necessarily going out of business...at least yet.

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Restaurant Chain Files For Chapter 11

Abuelo's is the latest in a string of restaurants to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The chain is 16 restaurants deep, and now finds itself in deep trouble.

On Tuesday, they filed for the protection, citing all the usual suspects. Declining sales, rising costs, challenges with staffing, and the wide-ranging consumers changing their preferences.

How Much Debt Does Abuelo's Have

According to the report, they have anywhere between $10 to $50 million of debt and liabilities. That's a couple of large numbers, and a pretty big gap from one to the next.

If this were a local place only, I'm not sure Chapter 11 would be something that could save them, and there's no guarantee the restructure will be enough to save Abuelo's, quite honestly.

Is Abuelo's Going To Close Locations

According to Abuelo's, their plan is to keep all locations open and operational while they work through the Chapter 11 filing. That's not to say that as they start to look at everything, all locations will remain open.

Abuelo's has been a part of the Amarillo fabric since 1989, so it's been a staple in town. Many have reported seeing fewer and fewer cars in the parking lot and were already questioning whether or not they were still open. The chain once had 40 restaurants in its portfolio.