The operator of two shuttered Planet Hollywood restaurants filed for bankruptcy earlier this month amid heavy debt and claims from a former lender.
Orlando-based PB Restaurants, along with affiliates Planet Express and Times Square Buffet, filed for Chapter 11 in Florida bankruptcy court on April 4.
Planet Express operated the Planet Hollywood at Los Angeles International Airport that closed on April 2 after several years of losses, according to court documents. Buffet operated the Planet Hollywood in New York City that closed in 2021 during the pandemic.
PB has significant financial problems. According to court documents, the company has a net worth of negative $46 million, including a $30 million secured credit facility from PHL Holdings, a subsidiary of PB's parent company, OCS Holdings. PB generated $1.2 million in revenue last year.
Planet Express, meanwhile, has a net worth of negative $4.4 million. It has filed to reject its lease at LAX. Times Square Buffet has a net worth of $0, having surrendered its assets to its landlord when it closed in 2021.
PB is also the former manager of Buca di Beppo, the Italian casual-dining chain that filed for bankruptcy in August. It’s owned by Earl Enterprises, the multibrand operation that also includes Bertucci’s, Bravo and Brio, Earl of Sandwich and Chicken Guy.
After Buca filed for bankruptcy, PB was terminated as the chain’s manager. Buca was then sold to its lender, investment firm Main Street Capital. Main Street raised several claims against PB, including that it had mismanaged Buca and paid itself management fees while the chain was in default, said R. Scott Shuker, PB’s attorney in the Planet Hollywood filing.
At that point, PB decided to file for bankruptcy to restructure while also winding down the Planet Express and Times Square Buffet operations.
“We don’t think Main Street has any valid claims, but we didn’t want to sit around and wait forever while they decided what they were gonna do,” Shuker said.
The bankruptcy filing does not affect the Planet Hollywood that opened in New York in February or the location at Disney Springs near Orlando, Shuker said.
It’s the third bankruptcy connected to Earl Enterprises over the past year, joining Buca di Beppo and Bertucci’s, which filed for Chapter 11 last week.
It’s also the third bankruptcy for Planet Hollywood, which previously filed in 1999 and 2001. The chain is down to just the two domestic restaurant locations in New York and Disney. It also has a resort in Las Vegas and several overseas.
Planet Hollywood was founded in 1991 by restaurateur Robert Earl with backing from celebrities like Bruce Willis and Sylvester Stallone. The movie-themed casual-dining restaurant at one point had more than 60 locations worldwide.
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