Burger King franchisee Consolidated Burger Holdings LLC and two affiliates became the latest large operator group of the fast-food chain to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The Destin, Florida-based operator directs 57 locations in Florida and Georgia.
The restaurants are organized into three geographical groups—Tallahassee and Southern Georgia (18 Restaurants), South Florida (19 Restaurants), and the Florida Panhandle (20 Restaurants). Tallahassee has the most with nine locations.
Of the 57 units, 53 are traditional and four are locations in Walmart.
Consolidated filed April 14 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Florida and listed $50 million to $100 million in assets and liabilities. It posted creditors of 200 to 999, including Burger King Corp ($2.4 million in franchisee fees).
The group has approximately $36.6 million in total debt, including $14 million in secured loans and over $21 million in unsecured obligations. As of the bankruptcy, Consolidated had just $179,000 in unrestricted cash and cash equivalents. The franchisee secured a $1.6 million DIP to aid its reorganization.
The company’s primary goal is to sell its assets through a court-supervised sale process.
The franchisee said industry headwinds, combined with a highly leveraged balance sheet, challenged the business and depleted liquidity. The operators has faced declining foot traffic over the years because of COVID, which resulted in declining revenue without a proportionate drop in debt service and other liabilities. Increased costs of shipping and food, decreased availability of labor, and general inflation made problems worse.
According to court filings, the company posted $67 million in revenue in 2024, down nearly $10 million from the previous year, while incurring a $12.5 million operating loss. Despite extensive remodeling investments since 2018, including new HVAC systems and parking upgrades, the chain has struggled to offset higher labor costs, inflation, and reduced foot traffic.
The franchisee marketed its assets for seven months—with investment bank Peak Franchise Capital contacting 235 potential acquirers—but no worthwhile transaction materialized.
Consolidated had also been in legal challenges with its franchisor going back to 2019. The two sides reached a settlement in September 2024. Additionally, Burger King alleged defaults under Consolidated’s franchise agreements in February but agreed to temporarily forbear enforcement through April 14.
Consolidated joins some other Burger King franchisees that filed Chapter 11 in recent years. Meridian Restaurants Unlimited had 120 stores when it went bankrupt in March 2023. It sold a majority of its restaurants out of Chapter 11 months after filing due to COVID pressures, court documents showed. Burger King corporate was the biggest buyer, scooping up 32 units for $4.7 million. Twenty-one stores received no qualified bids.
Ninety-unit TOMS King also declared bankruptcy for similar reasons earlier in 2023—decreased revenue and tough liabilities. Court documents showed, for the past several years, especially because of the pandemic, traffic and revenue significantly declined while rent, debt service, and other liabilities didn’t. The company also noted increased costs of shipping and food, lack of labor, and general inflation pressured cash flow.
Because of this lack in financial stability, TOMS King was unable to meet obligations and financial metrics required under its credit agreement with Bank of America.
Then, in October 2023, Premier Kings, a 172-unit Burger King franchisee, declared bankruptcy after the death of its owner created operational instability.
Burger King, as its Reclaim the Flame comeback continues, recently hired Joel Yashinsky as CMO for U.S. and Canada. The former Applebee’s CMO spent nearly two decades at McDonald’s.
The chain in Q4 posted a 1.5 percent rise in same-store sales, lapping a 6.4 percent increase in Q4 2023. Comps rose 1.2 percent for full-year 2024, lapping a 7.5 percent increase.
Parent company Restaurant Brands International, which also owns Popeyes, Tim Hortons, and Firehouse Subs, credited top-line gains to its multi-year turnaround, which has focused on asset evolution (Sizzle design), operational improvements, tech, accelerated marketing, and providing customers with menu innovation, value offerings, and improved experiences.
In 2024, Burger King U.S. earned $205,000 in average profitability per store, essentially flat compared to 2023. However, “A” operators achieved average profitability of more than $275,000—35 percent higher than the system average.
The company previously announced a goal of eclipsing $230,000 in average profitability by the end of 2026 and a longer-term goal of reaching $300,000.
RBI executive chairman Patrick Doyle said some renovated units were already approaching that figure.
Burger King, which closed 2024 with 6,701 U.S. stores, a year-over-year drop of 77, opened 80 Sizzle prototypes as of Q4—a design with a modernized décor, kiosks, in-store mobile order and pickup, and mobile order and pickup at the drive-thru. Overall, the brand completed 370 remodels last year, bringing the system to 51 percent modern image.
About 220 have been open for more than six months, Burger King said in Q4, and those averaged a mid-teens sales uplift in Year 1. The plan, it added, was to remodel about 400 in 2025 to keep pace with the goal of 85 to 90 percent modern image by 2028.
In 2024, the brand spent $1 billion to acquire its largest franchisee, Carrols Restaurant Group, to accelerate hundreds of remodels and refranchise stores over the next five years.
Burger King in February began work to start selling locations in 2025, two years ahead of schedule. It expects to further accelerate efforts in 2026. Burger King’s new preference is for operators to have no more than 50 units; the chain currently has 300 franchisees, but that is expected to move to roughly 400–500 in the next few years.
Overall, the brand has invested north of $2 billion in the turnaround ($400 million from Reclaim the Flame, $1 billion on Carrols, $500 million remodel commitment for those Carrols locations, and an additional $300 million co-investment in remodels).
