Restaurant owner Scott Wise files for personal bankruptcy

Rachel Fradette, Indianapolis Star
·2 min read

Local restaurant owner Scott Wise and his wife Amy Wise filed for personal bankruptcy earlier this month following financial debts from three years ago.

When reached on his cell phone Friday morning by IndyStar, Wise said the filing would not impact his Roots Burger Bar restaurants. He declined further comment.

Wise opened Roots Burger Bar in Muncie in 2019. Locations in Indianapolis and Carmel opened within the last year.

The Wises filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy Oct. 5 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Indiana. Under Chapter 7, a business or individual liquidates assets.

In the joint case, Wise and his wife estimated that their assets are worth about $956,000. The couple listed $3.4 million in liabilities. They listed monthly income of $23,579 versus monthly expenses of $23,550, a difference of $29.

Wise, who founded the former Scotty's Brewhouse chain and Esports Restaurant Group, LLC, that owns Roots Burger Bar, had previously filed for bankruptcy in 2019, according to the 2022 filing.

When the couple filed in 2019, they listed assets of about $1.2 million and liabilities of $2.7 million.

Previously:Scotty's Brewhouse founder says he did not mislead investors

The couple estimated between 50 to 100 creditors, a majority of which spanned from business debts incurred in 2019, according to the bankruptcy forms.

Scotty's Brewhouse sold, LLC files bankruptcy

The first Scotty’s Brewhouse opened in Muncie in 1996, quickly growing to more than 20 locations around the country.

In 2016, Wise sold Scotty’s Brewhouse to Arizona-based Due North Holdings LLC. The chain filed for bankruptcy in 2018, closing three Indiana restaurants in Carmel, Muncie and Indianapolis. They also closed a location in Waco, Texas.

A month after Scotty’s Brewhouse locations closed, former investors who alleged Wise defrauded them filed a lawsuit against him in 2019.

Wise told IndyStar in 2019 that he was disappointed to hear about the lawsuit.

"Unfortunately," Wise told IndyStar in 2019, "the Scotty’s Brewhouse chain experienced financial difficulties that adversely impacted the return to all investors, including me."

The complaint was dismissed in December 2020.

Roots Burger Bar:Scotty's Brewhouse founder Scott Wise is opening new restaurants

Roots Burger Bars in Indianapolis, Carmel

Upon the announcement of the restaurant expansion to Carmel, Wise told IndyStar that he sold Scotty's Brewhouse because he had lost passion for the industry, which was reignited by Roots Burger Bar.

Roots Burger Bar is planning locations in Carmel and Indianapolis. This site is in the commercial complex at the corner of 126th Street and Gray Road.
Roots Burger Bar is planning locations in Carmel and Indianapolis. This site is in the commercial complex at the corner of 126th Street and Gray Road.

“I want to do it on my terms where we go back: to go back to my roots, go back to my original restaurant, go back to my original hometown, go back to my original concept of a menu that was very simple,” Wise told IndyStar last December.

IndyStar archives contributed to this report.

Rachel Fradette is a general assignment reporter at IndyStar. Contact her at rfradette@indystar.com or follow her on Twitter at @Rachel_Fradette.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Roots Burger Bar owner Scott Wise files for personal bankruptcy