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

Georgia and Florida residents who love their Popeyes fried chicken will 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. Sailormen entered bankruptcy with 136 locations and was able to sell 97 of them to new operators. However, it ultimately shut down the locations for which it could not secure buyers — the remaining 39.

This shouldn't be mistaken for Popeyes itself going bankrupt — Sailormen was an independently owned company licensed to operate Popeyes restaurants whereas Popeyes is owned by Restaurant Brands International (RBI) – the same company that owns Burger King. That said, Sailormen's trouble comes against the backdrop of fast food chains disappearing across America. The bankruptcy followed years of rising food and labor costs, weaker customer traffic, and mounting debt. Per court filings, 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 and 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. However, between 2012 and 2018, Sailorman Inc. sold off its operations in Alabama, Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Missouri in order to concentrate on Florida and Georgia. This 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 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 another company. However, this sale did not release Sailorman from the physical restaurants' lease guarantees, and when the new company took over the locations but stopped paying rent and closed them, landlords pursued Sailormen for the outstanding lease payments. Then, in 2025, Sailorman unsuccessfully attempted to sell another 32 Jacksonville-area restaurants, leaving the company with fewer ways to raise money as losses mounted. Together, the debt, failed sales, and ongoing lease obligations left Sailormen, like other franchisees filing for bankruptcy in 2026, with little room to recover.