Sustainable Restaurant Holdings, the operator of Bamboo Sushi and QuickFish, has filed for Chapter 11 protection and placed the struggling business up for sale.
Executives are seeking new capital in an effort to tackle the impact of the coronavirus health crisis, which has seen the company run limited restaurant operations, significantly reducing its revenue generating capacity.
“We are facing the same challenges as many other consumer-focused businesses, especially those in the restaurant industry,” said Sustainable Restaurant Holdings President and Interim CEO Matthew Park.
“In this environment, we simply are not able to generate sufficient revenue to meet our day-to-day and long-term obligations."
Bamboo Sushi was one of the pioneers in committing to shifting its menu to sustainable seafood offerings, a move that won it accolades from the NGO sector. Founder Kristofor Lofgren was nominated for a Seafood Champions award by SeaWeb, and was frequently profiled for his commitment to sustainable sourcing through programs such as the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC).
In conjunction with the filing, Oregon-based Sustainable Restaurant Holdings has received a commitment for up to $1.9 million (€1.75 million) in debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing led by the Bain Capital Double Impact fund.
Under the terms of DIP financing lenders take a priority position over the firm's assets, ahead of previous lenders.
Subject to court approval the DIP financing, combined with the business's available cash, will provide sufficient liquidity for Sustainable Restaurant Holdings to continue to pay and provide benefits to its current employees and meet its post-Chapter 11 filing obligations to vendors and other business partners, the company said in a statement.
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