Bertucci's left with one location in South Jersey after filing Chapter 11 bankruptcy
EVESHAM – A Bertucci’s restaurant here has closed as its parent company seeks bankruptcy protection from creditors.
The Route 73 eatery shut its doors on Monday, Dec. 5, the day of the bankruptcy filing, according to a representative of the Florida-based chain.
A notice at the restaurant's entrance directs visitors to Bertucci's only remaining location in New Jersey — on Nixon Drive in Mount Laurel.
"We are very sorry that your favorite location, Bertucci's Marlton, is closed," says the notice. "We want to thank you for the years of loyalty to Bertucci's."
A separate window display suggests the abrupt nature of the restaurant's closing. It reads, "Now hiring!"
The Chapter 11 filing is the second bankruptcy action in four years to involve the chain's restaurants.
A previous operator declared bankruptcy in April 2018, citing competition from quick-casual restaurants and “over-saturation” in its industry.
The current owner, Bertucci’s Restaurants LLC., was formed to acquire 56 locations during the 2018 bankruptcy proceedings.
“Unfortunately, due to Covid and the impact of inflation, sales declined and expenses increased,” the Orlando company said in its bankruptcy filing.
Bertucci's Restaurants reported a net loss of $7.2 million for fiscal year 2021. It said annual sales, which were more than $120 million in 2019, fell to $97.9 million.
The company had a negative net worth in September of $37 million, a court record says.
Bertucci’s, founded in suburban Boston in 1981, now has 31 restaurants in nine states between Massachusetts and Virginia, according to the company’s website.
The chain once had as many as seven outlets in New Jersey, including a Gloucester Township site that closed after the first bankruptcy action.
Jim Walsh is a senior reporter with the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal.
This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Earl Enterprises closes Bertucci's location in Marlton NJ
