Updated

Updated · Gainesville Sun · Jun 26

Judge Approves 18 Popeyes Lease Rejections as Bankrupt Franchisee Closes 2 Alachua County Stores

Updated

Updated · Gainesville Sun · Jun 26

Judge Approves 18 Popeyes Lease Rejections as Bankrupt Franchisee Closes 2 Alachua County Stores

Q: After a massive bankruptcy sale, what will happen to the 52 Popeyes locations that nobody wanted to buy?

Most of the 52 unsold Popeyes locations are headed toward closure unless a last-minute buyer emerges or the court orders another path. The clearest immediate outcome is for 18 of them: the bankruptcy court has already approved lease rejections for those stores, including 15 in Florida and three in Georgia. That means those restaurants are expected to shut by the end of June 2026. The remaining 34 locations are still unresolved, but Sailormen has told the court they are a financial burden and that it will lose authority to use cash collateral to keep operating them after July 1. In practical terms, that makes continued operation unlikely unless the court approves another arrangement or a buyer steps in quickly. In Chapter 11 cases like this, stores that cannot be sold are commonly dealt with by rejecting the leases and closing the units. That allows the debtor to stop paying rent and other operating costs on underperforming restaurants. The pending court hearing will determine whether more of the unsold stores follow that route. There is still a possibility that some locations could be sold later at lower prices or transferred if disputes over certain leases are resolved. One buyer, RFI Ventures, has objected to some lease rejections involving Orlando-area stores, arguing some had already been transferred. But based on the filings so far, the likely outcome for most of the unwanted locations is shutdown rather than continued operation.

3 articles · Updated · Gainesville Sun · Jun 26

Two Popeyes restaurants in Alachua County — at 5695 NW 23rd St. in Gainesville and 15655 NW U.S. 441 in Alachua — are closing after a U.S. bankruptcy judge approved lease rejections for 18 locations.
Sailormen Inc., the Miami-based franchisee, filed Chapter 11 in January and told the court inflationary pressures and foot traffic that never fully recovered after COVID-19 drove the shutdowns.
52 locations failed to draw buyers at an auction during the week of June 15, making lease terminations the next step for unsold restaurants; a Gainesville Popeyes at 1412 N. Main St. remains open.
The 18 rejected leases are part of a broader restructuring in which Sailormen has been trying to sell assets from a 136-store Popeyes portfolio across Florida and Georgia.