A Popular East Coast Pizza Chain Is Closing More Locations And Filing For Bankruptcy

If you thought you noticed an uptick in the number of beloved restaurant chains facing bankruptcy in 2024, you were right. Restaurant closures are a growing trend across the country, caused by a multitude of economic factors like inflation and increasing labor costs, to name a few. However, as economic conditions continue to tighten in the U.S., the list of restaurant chains filing for bankruptcy is likely to increase in 2025.

Joining the list of restaurant chains financially struggling is popular east coast pizza chain, Bertucci's, which announced in the final week of April 2025 that it would be closing down multiple locations and filing for bankruptcy, again. While the chain claimed that weakening consumer demand, and increasing costs, were behind the filing, this isn't Bertucci's first time declaring bankruptcy. Instead, this is actually the 3rd time they've filed for bankruptcy in the last 7 years. That said, the origin of their financial problems seems to have started in 2018.

Founded in 1981 in a suburb of Boston, Massachusetts, Bertucci's grew to a total of 56 locations at its peak in 2018. However, the pizza chain's popularity started to dwindle and it filed for its first bankruptcy in 2018. According to Kroll case background information, Bertucci's had substantial debt that it was unable to pay off. This in turn resulted in the company being sold to Earl Enterprises for $20 million. Bertucci's also ended up closing down 15 of its restaurant locations during its first bankruptcy process.

Bertucci's then filed for bankruptcy again in 2022. This time, however, the reason behind the bankruptcy filing was due to economic challenges surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. Bertucci's was forced to close down seven more restaurant locations during this second filing. According to Restaurant Business, citing Technomic data, Bertucci's sales declined a whopping 62% from 2019 to 2024. As of 2024, the chain was down to just 26 total locations, with 10 in the brand's original home state of Massachusetts.

In a statement sent to MassLive, the company declared that the reason behind its ongoing financial struggles is largely due to the fact that "consumer demand has shifted away from legacy casual-dining brands." While there is definitely some truth to this statement, and it is also arguably the overarching reason why another restaurant chain, Ruby Tuesday, is also on the brink of bankruptcy, after three bankruptcies it's difficult to entirely blame Bertucci's story on consumer demand.

With that said, declining sales have forced the restaurant chain to close over 35 different restaurant locations since 2018. Also, according to the company's bankruptcy court filing, as of late April 2025, Bertucci's has between $10 and $50 million worth of debt compared to an additional $10 to $50 million worth of assets. The company has stated that it plans to reorganize with a focus on a new smaller scale limited-service, fast-casual store format it is calling Bertucci's Pronto. Only time will tell if Bertucci's is able to join the list of companies that came roaring back from bankruptcy.