Fazoli’s Owner Files Chapter 11: What It Means in Michigan

If you're a Michigan Fazoli's fan who lives for those garlic breadsticks, this news might make you do a bit of a double-take. The chain itself hasn't yet announced it is pulling out of the state, but the company that owns it, is going through a financial shakeup.

What Chapter 11 Really Means for Restaurants

FAT Brands Inc., the California restaurant group that had bought the company in 2021, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Chapter 11 is the bankruptcy businesses that know they're in trouble, but keep operating. Reports are saying the filing is tied to debt restructuring and complications involving litigation with creditors, so this is largely about sorting money and obligations, while the business continues.

Why FAT Brands Filed and What’s Being Restructured

FAT Brands' CEO, Andy Wiederhorn, has said the priority during the process is staying focused on customers while supporting franchise partners and employees.

READ MORE: Beloved Restaurant Chain Has Only One Location Left In Michigan

The story also noted Wiederhorn's past legal trouble, including serving time in a federal prison in 2004-2005 after pleading guilty to filing a false tax return, and later facing federal charges in 2024 related to alleged money laundering and fraud connected to personal expenses. Those 2024 charges were dropped in July 2025.

Who Owns Fazoli’s and Why Franchises Matter

Zooming out, Fazoli's has more than 200 locations across the country, and many of them are franchised. That matters because individual stores are often run by local operators, and not the corporate parent directly.

Michigan already saw a couple of Fazoli's close their doors recently here in Michigan, just leaving three stores statewide. At the moment, there's no official word that any additional Michigan locations, or locations nationwide, are about to close because of the Chapter 11 filing.