Eegee鈥檚, Tucson鈥檚 iconic sandwich chain known for its namesake frozen fruit drink, filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy Friday.
The filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Phoenix came a day after Eegee鈥檚 LLC, owned by , closed four locations in 大象APPand one in Phoenix, bringing the total number of restaurants in Arizona to 25 鈥 21 in 大象APPand four in the Phoenix area.
The Chapter 11 filing will give the company breathing room to reorganize and stabilize, said Chris Westcott, Eegee鈥檚 interim CEO.
鈥淲e didn鈥檛 come to this decision lightly, but we thought it was in the best interest to file Chapter 11,鈥 said Westcott, who joined the company two weeks ago. 鈥淭he brand has been struggling since the pandemic ... and we just haven鈥檛 bounced back to pre-pandemic levels.鈥
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Eegee鈥檚 listed roughly $2.8 million in outstanding debt owed to its 20 largest creditors including Sysco Food Services of Arizona (just over $1 million), Merit Foods of 大象APP($725,972) and Ramp Flex ($410,618), according to the bankruptcy documents.
The Eegee鈥檚 restaurant at 1530 West Grant Road is one of four in 大象APPthe company closed this week. A fifth location in Phoenix also was closed.
The bankruptcy could take three to six months to resolve before the company will evaluate next steps, Westcott said.
鈥淲e are very bullish on the brand,鈥 said Westcott, whose decades-long restaurant career has included fine dining operations in Pennsylvania and Oregon. 鈥淲e believe this will be a step towards stabilizing the brand and getting back into a growth mode.鈥
Eegee鈥檚, which started in 大象APPas a frozen lemonade truck in 1971, had 24 locations when 39 North Capital bought the company in 2018. Months later, the company announced plans to expand into the Phoenix area.
In a year鈥檚 span between 2021 and 2022, Eegee鈥檚 opened five Phoenix locations, bringing the company鈥檚 total to 35.
But the expansion came with some retraction in summer 2023. Eegee鈥檚 closed three 大象APPstores in a four- to five-week span as part of a strategic plan aimed at capitalizing on the city鈥檚 changing demographics, officials said at the time.
A note posted in the drive-thru display Friday of the Eegee鈥檚 location on West Grant Road thanks customers for their support and directs them to other restaurants in the area.
On Thursday, the company closed restaurants at 1530 W. Grant Road; 502 W. Ajo Way; 6810 E. Tanque Verde Road and 7760 E. Speedway. Officials said there were no more planned closures.
鈥淥ur goal is to ... find out what is working and what we have to work on ... to move in a positive direction,鈥 Westcott said.
Some longtime Eegee鈥檚 customers might see the company鈥檚 recent announcement to switch bread vendors as a starting point.
Eegee鈥檚 in October 2022 switched bread vendors for the first time in years, leading to swift customer blowback. Last May, the company announced on that it was testing a new vendor, the longtime Arizona baker Capistrano鈥檚.
In August, it made the switch after road-testing Capistrano鈥檚 bread at several locations where customers 鈥渙rdered (it) thousands of times.鈥
Westcott said the remaining restaurants will operate 鈥渂usiness as usual,鈥 with no planned menu changes or changes in the company鈥檚 customer loyalty and gift card programs.
Contact reporter Cathalena E. Burch at cburch@tucson.com. On Bluesky @Starburch
Cathalena E. Burch
Reporter
Tucson-born Eegee's is switching up its menu
