The Popular Bar Chain That Might Make A Comeback From Bankruptcy

It's no secret that the restaurant business is a tough game. You'll often hear statistics about the number of restaurants that fail within their first few years. But, since 2023, that trend has expanded to include not just startups but well-known, established brands like Red Lobster and TGI Friday's. Bankruptcies continued to riddle the restaurant landscape throughout 2024, and that trend didn't slow down in 2025. If all that doom and gloom has you worried about the potential future of your favorite eateries, there's some brighter news out of the restaurant world as 2025 comes close to its end. Bar Louie may have been saved, although it is still too early to say for sure.

The popular chain of gastropubs filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy a second time in March 2025, citing what has become boilerplate for the industry these days: change in consumer behavior, and the much-noted increasing food and labor costs. The filing affected 39 locations nationwide. However, Sun Holdings, which also acquired the Uncle Julio's Mexican restaurant chain when it went into foreclosure, acquired Bar Louie as of October 2025.

Back in 2019, Bar Louie was operating 134 locations, but amidst underperformance, the company filed for bankruptcy for the first time in January 2020. It then dropped to 39 locations and struggled under new management to stay afloat.

Bar Louie began in Chicago in 1990 as a corner bar known for hand-crafted martinis and higher-end food. When they filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March, they had liabilities between $50 million and $100 million and 5,001 to 10,000 listed creditors. There is no word on what Sun Holdings paid for the acquisition, and the company has not made any firm claims about what the future might hold for the chain.

Sun Holdings' president Guillermo Perales said that acquiring Bar Louie "marks an exciting step forward in our growth strategy" and that it will be "a strong addition to our casual dining portfolio." How the company plans to achieve that and what it means for the existing locations is not yet known. After the company acquired Uncle Julio's out of foreclosure, not every location stayed open, so there are no guarantees about what this acquisition might mean for Bar Louie's future. Nevertheless, the news does at least offer hope that the barrage of bankruptcies affecting the industry is not always final.

Sun Holdings began as a Golden Corral franchisee back in 1997 (interestingly, Golden Corral was another chain hit hard by COVID-19). The company now operates over 1,800 different locations across several brands. Whatever happens now, Bar Louie will be joining a stable that includes Burger King, Arby's, and Popeyes, among many others. Hopefully, it joins the ranks of these chains that survived bankruptcy and thrives again.