Oprah-backed True Food Kitchen files for bankruptcy, blaming management turnover and strategy shifts
Health-focused restaurant chain True Food Kitchen has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, citing management turnover and failed expansion strategies. The company, backed by Oprah Winfrey, plans to restructure while keeping 34 of its 46 locations open.
Why it matters
The bankruptcy highlights the operational risks and financial volatility facing high-profile, venture-backed restaurant chains in a post-pandemic economy.
Oprah Winfrey first invested in True Food Kitchen in 2018. Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images Health-focused chain True Food Kitchen has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company, which cited $42 million in debt in court papers, closed 12 restaurant outposts. 34 remain open. Media mogul Oprah Winfrey has been an investor in the company since 2018. Health-focused restaurant chain True Food Kitchen , which has counted Oprah Winfrey and former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz among its backers, has filed for bankruptcy . The Phoenix, Arizona-founded chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in a Texas court on Sunday and is pursuing a court-supervised sale of the business as part of its restructuring proceedings. True Food Kitchen also closed 12 of its restaurants on the day it filed, cutting its footprint to 34 locations across 14 states.
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