Bankrupt Fried Chicken Chain Franchisee Is Closing 39 Restaurants After Selling Off The Rest

Georgia and Florida residents who love their Popeyes fried chicken would be sad to know that they have 39 fewer locations to choose from as of July 2026. The closures — 31 in Florida and eight in Georgia — followed the collapse of Sailormen Inc., a major Popeyes franchisee that operated restaurants across both states. After filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January 2026, Sailormen attempted to sell as much of its restaurant portfolio as possible, but ultimately shut down the locations for which it could not secure buyers.

Sailormen is a franchisee, so this shouldn't be mistaken for Popeyes itself going bankrupt. Sailormen was an independently owned company licensed to operate Popeyes restaurants. Popeyes is owned by Restaurant Brands International (RBI), which is the same company that owns Burger King. Sailormen entered bankruptcy with 136 locations, sold 97 of them to new operators and closed the remaining 39. Its final deal covered 23 Orlando-area restaurants, thus ending Sailormen's nearly four-decade run as a Popeyes franchisee while allowing most of its former locations to remain open under new ownership.

Sailormen's trouble comes against the backdrop of fast food chains slowly disappearing across America. The bankruptcy followed years of rising food and labor costs, weaker customer traffic, and mounting debt. The franchisee generated approximately $233.5 million in sales during 2025 but still posted an operating loss of about $18.8 million. By the time it sought bankruptcy protection, the company reported roughly $342.6 million in liabilities against $232.5 million in assets, making its restaurant sales and closures more practical than attempting to preserve the business in its existing form.

According to a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing, Sailormen Inc. was formed in Florida in 1984 to operate eight Popeyes restaurants. Three years later, businessmen Bob Berg and Steve Wemple acquired it to tap into some of the money franchisees get from popular brands. They expanded its 11 Miami-area locations to 15 by 1995. From 1996 to 2000, it grew through eight key acquisitions, expanding its presence to seven states, with one portfolio containing 72 restaurants. However, between 2012 and 2018, it sold its operations in Alabama, Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Missouri to concentrate on Florida and Georgia. The narrower focus helped establish Sailormen as a major regional franchisee, with 136 Popeyes restaurants and more than 3,300 employees by January 2026.

Ultimately, Sailormen's later financing and restructuring decisions contributed to its collapse. A large loan agreement dating back to 2020 used almost everything the company owned as collateral, meaning lenders had claims against those assets if Sailormen failed to repay them. In 2023, Sailormen sold 16 Georgia restaurants to Tar Heels Spice, but the sale did not release it from the restaurants' lease guarantees. Tar Heels took over the locations but later stopped paying rent and closed them, leaving landlords to pursue Sailormen for the outstanding lease payments. Its attempt to sell another 32 Jacksonville-area restaurants in 2025 also went nowhere, leaving the company with fewer ways to raise money as its losses mounted. Together, the debt, failed sales, and ongoing lease obligations left Sailormen with little room to recover, setting the stage for its January 2026 bankruptcy filing.