The Oldsmar restaurant reported over $554,000 in liabilities following hurricane disruptions, falling sales and rising expenses.
The operator of a Village Inn restaurant in Oldsmar, Florida, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Sept. 18 after reporting more than $554,000 in liabilities, according to federal court records obtained by Fox Business.
VI Oldsmar LLC filed its petition in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida. The company elected to use Subchapter V, a streamlined bankruptcy process open to qualifying small businesses.
Filings list the company with $554,076 in liabilities, about $72,335 in assets and between one and 49 creditors. Its assets consist of about $5,235 in cash, $15,000 in food and paper inventory, $50,000 in kitchen equipment and roughly $2,100 in office furniture and equipment.
The business owes $250,000 to its largest creditor, 3682 JAGS LLC. Other major debts include $120,400 to the Florida Department of Revenue, $78,500 to the Internal Revenue Service, roughly $40,301 to US Foods and $30,000 to Sysco, court filings show.
The franchisee has dealt with falling customer sales, rising operating expenses and lasting damage from 2024 hurricanes in the Tampa Bay region, according to the Tampa Bay Business Journal. The Oldsmar diner is still open and doesn’t plan to shut down, a worker at the location told The Street.
The case is the fifth Chapter 11 filing since June involving Village Inn franchises run by managing member Lloyd D. Lehan IV, The Street reported. It follows an August Chapter 11 filing by Bay Pines Group LLC, another business owned by Lehan that runs a Village Inn on Bay Pines Boulevard in Seminole, Florida.
Village Inn was established in Denver in 1958 as Village Inn Pancake House. According to its website, the chain now operates over 100 company-owned and franchised locations in states including Florida, Colorado, Texas and Arizona. Village Inn, Lehan and the Oldsmar location couldn’t immediately be reached for comment by Fox Business.