The Parent Company of These Steakhouses Just Filed For Bankruptcy

BLT Restaurants Group, the New York-based parent company of BLT Steak and BLT Prime steakhouses, has declared bankruptcy. The move comes after the company couldn't repay the $3.3 million Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan it had received in 2020, according to Restaurant Business.

The federal government refused to forgive the company's loan in full, with 40% still outstanding, according to the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. The documents show that BLT's restaurants were affected by local dine-in capacity restrictions from April until October of 2020, and many of its employees did not return to work, which put the company out of compliance with the terms of the loan. During the course of the year, BLT Restaurants Group lost $7.6 million in income.

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"The company applied for and received PPP funds at the earliest opportunity because it was not known how much would be available or for how long," court documents state. "At the time the funds were applied for, no one knew the economic disruption would last so long, and had that been known, the company would have delays applying for the funds until a later date so all funds could be expended during the covered period."

The restaurant group says it also applied for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund program but was rejected from collecting up to $7.1 million it was eligible for due to an error made during the review process.

It currently operates seven locations of BLT Steak and BLT Prime across New York, Florida, North Carolina, Washington, D.C., and Hawaii. These restaurants are known for their contemporary take on traditional steakhouses and serve a classic array of prime meats and side dishes. The company's portfolio also includes the Italian concept The Florentine in Chicago.

BLT Restaurants Group recently also lost four restaurants it was operating, shuttering the BLT Burger in Washington, D.C.; Casa Nonna and The Wayfarer in New York City; and BLT Steak in White Plains, N.Y.

The company has an additional debt of more than $7.8 million to JL Holdings 2002 LLC, its majority owner. It hopes to restructure the debt and repay its PPP loan over the course of two years.