4 minBusiness
Marmalade Café Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy After 36 Years
Marmalade Café, a 36-year-old Southern California chain, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Sept. 2, citing rent disputes and supplier debts exceeding $1 million. Four locations remain open.
Marmalade Café, a Southern California brunch chain that operated for 36 years and counted the Kardashians among its customers, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Sept. 2, citing rent disputes and mounting supplier debts.
The Encino-based company listed total assets of $12.7 million but reported a net loss of $680,314, according to the filing. It owes more than $1 million to creditors including Gilmore Farmers Market, US Foods, Sysco Ventura Inc. and the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration.
The chain, which first opened in Santa Monica in 1990, evolved from a grab-and-go spot into a full-service operation offering private dining and catering to businesses such as Boeing, Mattel, CBS and Warner Bros. Studios. Its Calabasas location was a favorite of the Kardashians, according to reports.
At the time of the filing, Marmalade Café was operating just four locations across Southern California after closing four others in recent years. The company cited «unsustainable financial losses and a lack of rent relief» in the filing.
The Calabasas restaurant closed after construction disrupted parking and drove down sales. In a July Facebook post, the restaurant wrote that «the ongoing construction throughout the shopping center has resulted in a devastating decline in business.» The statement added that the landlord declined to provide rent relief during the extended construction period, and that the company «simply cannot sustain the financial losses any longer.» That closure was reportedly a main catalyst for the bankruptcy filing.
The Santa Monica location shuttered amid losses tied to the Palisades fire, and the Original Farmers Market outpost closed after failing to regain pre-pandemic business, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The four remaining Marmalade Café locations in El Segundo, Malibu, Sherman Oaks and Westlake Village remain open. A representative told the Los Angeles Times they are «very healthy and very strong.»
The filing also stated that the company had downsized from more than 200 employees to about 50 as of this year.
Longtime restaurants are being squeezed by simultaneous increases in rent, wages, insurance and utilities, chef Andrew Gruel, founder of American Gravy and a Huntington Beach city councilman, told Fox News Digital.
«Marmalade's Chapter 11 filing is a prime example of how difficult the restaurant business has become, particularly in California,» Gruel said. «Longevity and a loyal customer base are valuable, but they don't necessarily protect a restaurant when the underlying cost structure changes faster than the business can adapt.»
Marmalade Café is the latest in a string of restaurant bankruptcies and closures across California and nationwide. Other recent casualties include Fireman Hospitality, Salad and Go and FAT Brands, the parent company of Fatburger, Johnny Rockets and other chains. Red Lobster, Carl's Jr. and On the Border locations have also recently shuttered.
The closures do not necessarily mean the restaurants were poorly run, Gruel added. Rather, rising costs can catch up with even established businesses — part of an industry reset he expects will bring more closures.
«The operators who survive will likely be those who can adapt their menus, staffing, hours, footprint and overall business model while maintaining the experience that brings customers back,» he said.
Fox News Digital reached out to Marmalade Café for comment.
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