Punch Bowl Social on Broadway in Denver, November 1, 2016.
Andy Cross | Denver Post | Getty Images
Punch Bowl Social filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Monday after the coronavirus pandemic devastated its business.
In February, the once-bustling “eatery” chain seemed to be the future of the restaurant industry, bringing arcade games and karaoke along with food and drink. Cracker Barrel invested $ 140 million in a stake of the company last year, and Punch Bowl had grown to 20 locations by the time the lockdowns took effect in March.
The crisis evaporated its customer base and Cracker Barrel chose to bolster its own liquidity in March instead of helping Punch Bowl survive.
CEO Robert Thompson, who founded Punch Bowl in 2012, left the company in the midst of the pandemic. The main lender, CrowdOut Capital, took partial ownership and hired a new CEO, John Haywood, who has built a reputation as a turnaround specialist.
Punch Bowl has debts of between $ 10 million and $ 50 million, according to bankruptcy filings. It is owed more than $ 10 million for a loan from the Payment Protection Program to JPMorgan Chase, the main creditor. Most of the other creditors are tenants of the locations across the country.
The company is the latest in a wave of restaurants and retailers to file for bankruptcy protection during the pandemic, including Chuck E. Cheese’s parent company, Ruby Tuesday and J. Crew. Bankruptcy experts have predicted a new deluge of filings after the holidays.