Wendy's Franchise Operator Meritage Hospitality Files For Chapter 11 Bankruptcy
Grand Rapids, Michigan-based Meritage Hospitality Group, one of Wendy's largest U.S. franchisees operating 314 Wendy's locations across 15 states, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Thursday September 17 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Michigan.
The company also operates one Bojangles and five independently branded restaurants and employs approximately 9,000 people. All locations are expected to stay open during the restructuring process and employees will continue to receive wages and benefits.
Meritage cited "sustained system-wide headwinds affecting the broader Wendy's brand over the past few years." The broader Wendy's picture is bleak: the chain has reported six consecutive quarters of same-store sales declines, Wendy's traffic has hit a 30-year low and the corporate stock has lost two-thirds of its value over the past three years.
At an investor conference in June, Meritage CEO Bob Schermer Jr. said store-level EBITDA had plummeted 48 percent in 2025 alone due to rising beef costs and increased discounting.
The company had already closed nearly 60 locations earlier in 2026 as part of a portfolio optimization effort.
The filing listed assets and liabilities both in the $10 million to $50 million range. Wendy's corporate entity, Quality Is Our Recipe LLC, is listed as Meritage's top unsecured creditor.
