True Food Kitchen, the health-focused restaurant chain, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Sunday, Oct. 4, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, closing 12 restaurants on the day of the filing. The company carries about $42 million in debt and entered bankruptcy with only about $1.6 million in unrestricted cash — enough to cover operations and bankruptcy expenses for roughly two weeks without fresh financing, its financial adviser said.
The shuttered restaurants are in Century City, El Segundo and San Diego UTC in California; Miami; Chicago; New Orleans; Bethesda, Maryland; Edison and Hackensack, New Jersey; Garden City, New York; Columbus, Ohio; and Reston, Virginia — Sunday was their final day of service. The remaining 34 locations across 14 states stay open. The company filed standard "first day" motions seeking court approval to keep paying employee wages and benefits, maintain guest programs and continue vendor relationships.
Court documents show the debt includes merchant cash advance agreements with multiple vendors. Chief Restructuring Officer Nathan Cook blamed the collapse on management turnover: "The company experienced significant management turnover, which resulted in frequent changes to expansion strategy, brand direction, and menu offerings." Successive leadership teams poured money into unsuccessful new products and restaurant concepts that strayed from the chain's health-focused mission, and pandemic-era experiments hurt the dining experience, Cook said. True Food Kitchen has secured a commitment for about $20 million in debtor-in-possession financing from HumanCo TFK IV, subject to court approval, to fund it through the Chapter 11 and sale processes.
Oprah Winfrey made an equity investment in the Phoenix-founded chain in July 2018 and once sat on its board; she is now a minority investor and no longer serves on the board. CEO Jeff Chandler called the filing "the best path forward to simplify the business and focus on what we do best: delivering craveable, health-forward food and genuine hospitality," and said the company will pursue a court-supervised sale to find a long-term partner with the resources and mission alignment to support the brand's future.
True Food Kitchen's fall mirrors a broader crunch in U.S. dining. National Restaurant Association data shows 42% of operators were unprofitable in 2025, and the industry reported a net traffic decline in 18 of the past 19 months; a Popmenu survey found about 60% of consumers are dining out less often to save money. Between 2019 and 2026, average restaurant expenses rose 36%, hourly wages climbed 41% and wholesale food prices jumped 35%. Caught between customers resistant to higher prices and costs that leave little room to cut them, mid-to-upscale concepts like wellness-driven dining are feeling the squeeze first.