Chapter 11 – Live Laugh Love Do

Fast-food chicken chain in Chapter 11 bankruptcy faces shutdown

admin — Sat, 07 Jun 2025 11:48:57 +0000

[ad_1]

Chicken has become a major battleground in the fast-food space.

You have your dedicated chicken chains like KFC and Chick-fil-A, and there’s also Popeye’s, Zaxby’s, Raising Cane’s, and countless others devoted specifically to selling chicken. You also have McDonald’s, Burger King, and Wendy’s, which have all made chicken a major part of the menu.

That makes it incredibly hard to break into the space. Maybe you can offer a better product, but does that difference matter when so many other chains, with so many locations, are your competition?

In some ways, fried chicken has become like craft beer. There are a lot of people who are very passionate about it that want to enter the space, but it’s nearly impossible to differentiate yourself.

Trying to market your chicken chain as superior to others seems like a really challenging prospect. That’s exactly what Sticky’s has boldly tried to do, using the marketing line “the best damn chicken finger you have ever tasted.”

Don’t miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet’s free daily newsletter

The company tried to justify that boast on its website.

“Sticky’s was created out of a love for chicken fingers and the desire to think outside of the box. Our founders realized that there were a lot of New Yorkers who really loved chicken fingers but didn’t have a great place to get them; and thus, Sticky’s was born! Our mission is to create the best damn experience through the comfort of chicken fingers in a fun, inclusive space,” it shared.

Fried chicken has become a commodity.

Image source: Getty Images

Sticky’s has filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy

While it opened with noble intentions (or at least lofty goals), Sticky’s was not able to deliver. The chain has been in Chapter 11 bankruptcy for almost a year. During its period of court protection, the company closed three locations and a ghost kitchen.

At the time of its filing with U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, the company reported $500,000-$1 million in assets and $1 to $10 million in liabilities, with the largest creditor being distributor U.S. Foods.

It seemed in late April that the chain had found a lifeline.

More Food & Dining:

“Sticky’s won a Delaware bankruptcy judge’s tentative permission Tuesday to sign a contract to sell its assets to an investment fund for $2 million after surging poultry prices and New York City’s congestion pricing program imperiled the company’s Chapter 11 turnaround plan,” Law360 reported on April 30.

That court order is now under scrutiny, which could lead to the company being liquidated.

Sticky’s faces a very uncertain future

Harker Palmer Investors LLC tried to defend its offer in a June 3 court filing in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The company sought to answer an objection from a Justice Department bankruptcy watchdog to the $2 million deal.

It argued that the U.S. Trustee’s legal arguments are “unsupported” and that no creditors — including landlords and supplier U.S. Foods — oppose the revised proposal,” Bloomberg Law first reported.

If the offer is not approved, Harker Palmer’s lawyers argued, the fried chicken chain will have to be liquidated.

“If the Modified Plan is not confirmed, conversion to Chapter 7 will follow, resulting in no recovery to any creditors,” the firm said in the filing.

Chapter 7 would involve a trustee-supervised liquidation process.

Sticky’s, which has also faced a lawsuit over its name, built a business on the idea that it offers higher-quality chicken fingers than its rivals.

“At Sticky’s we use the finest ingredients, including fresh, never-frozen, antibiotic-free chicken. We take great pride in what we do and what we serve. With a selection of over 18 sauces made in house, it is a labor of love. We believe this process is necessary to serve our customers ‘The Best Damn Chicken,’ it posted on its website.

[ad_2]

Another major internet company files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy

admin — Fri, 30 May 2025 05:08:59 +0000

[ad_1]

Major technology companies, facing financial distress, have been seeking bankruptcy protection in recent months.

Many of these companies are dealing with the same financial problems that retailers, restaurants, manufacturers, and service providers are suffering from, including rising costs of labor and products driven by inflation, increased interest rates on their debt, and consumers’ changing attitudes in paying for services.

Don’t miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet’s free daily newsletter

Most of these companies have blamed unsustainable debt obligations and industry headwinds as the primary reasons for their economic problems.

Debtors have also said that they filed for bankruptcy either after defaulting on their debt obligations or to prevent them from defaulting on their debt.

Struggling business internet provider Everstream Solutions LLC is one of the tech companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, facing a potential default on over $1 billion in prepetition credit agreements.

The company, which filed its petition on May 28, is hoping to sell its assets in a bankruptcy auction.

Tech companies file for bankruptcy protection

In April, banking-as-a-service start-up, Solid, which at one time called itself the Amazon Web Services of fintech, filed for Chapter 11 protection in Delaware after failing to secure an additional round of funding.

Semiconductor supplier Wolfspeed has not yet filed for bankruptcy, but it is reportedly considering filing for bankruptcy, sources familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal on May 20.

The Durham, N.C., tech company is pursuing a prepackaged Chapter 11 plan in the coming weeks after out-of-court debt restructuring attempts failed.

And now, another major company that supports internet services is filing for bankruptcy.

Tilson Technology Management, which installs fiber solutions and infrastructure for internet services, files for bankruptcy.

Getty/TheStreet

Tilson Technology Management files for bankruptcy

Tilson Technology Management, a national leader in the installation of fiber solutions and infrastructure for internet services, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, seeking a sale of its assets.

The Portland, Maine, debtor and two affiliates filed their petition on May 29 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, listing about $223 million in debt, according to a declaration by Chief Restructuring Officer Richard Arrowsmith.

Tilson, whose affiliate Boundless Broadband is listed as the lead debtor in the case, is seeking $37.5 million in debtor-in-possession financing with $15 million available on interim order approval.

“For nearly 20 years, Tilson has helped clients tackle their most difficult information and communications infrastructure challenges,” Tilson CEO Darrell Ingram said in a statement.

“Our core business is strong, but we need to reset after one client’s failure to manage its relationships with its host communities and pay us for the work we performed materially changed our revenue expectations,” Ingram said.

“The steps we are taking today represent a new beginning, not an end. We are fortunate that our lenders continue to believe in our business and support us financially, so we can overcome this setback and create a strong financial future for our company,” he said.

More bankruptcy:

Tilson Technology Management plans to file a bidding procedures motion for a sale of all of its assets by June 13, a stalking-horse bid motion by June 25, receive approval of its bidding procedures by Aug. 1, approve a sale order by Sept. 19, and close the sale by Sept. 26, according to the declaration

The debtor’s financial problems began after it in 2022 contracted with Gigapower, an entity owned by Blackrock and AT&T, to design and build its fiber networks in Las Vegas and in Gilbert and Chandler, Ariz.

Tilson Technology Management alleged in court papers that Gigapower failed to deliver on all of the terms it had negotiated to address cashflow risks, failed to devote sufficient resources to community communication and management of jurisdiction-imposed costs, and delayed, withheld and reduced payments without contractual basis.

The debtor alleged that a series of actions by Gigapower led to its bankruptcy filing, including withholding all payments to Tilson in March 2025 without a reasoned explanation.

Gigapower also withheld consent in March 2025 to resume construction in Las Vegas for a month before scheduling meetings with the city to resume construction; and terminated all construction in Gilbert not in progress and suspended engineering work on March 28, 2025.

It also terminated all remaining construction work in Las Vegas and Chandler on April 29, 2025.

[ad_2]