A large franchisee for the fast-casual dining chain Moe’s Southwest Grill has filed for Chapter 11, becoming the latest chain restaurant operator to seek bankruptcy protection this year.
The franchisee, Quality Fresca of Palm Beach, Florida, is seeking to end its leases at 16 locations, most of which are in Florida.
At the time of filing, the franchisee operated 38 Moe’s Southwest Grill locations, down from 69 in 2021 after years of closing underperforming stores. If approved, Quality Fresca would have 22 stores left in operation.
The petition was filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida on August 4, 2026.
GoTo Foods, parent company of Moe’s Southwest Grill, is not affected by the bankruptcy. The chain has roughly 541 locations in the United States, according to its store locator.
Quality Fresca faced financial pressures
In court documents, Quality Fresca cited “industry headwinds, increased costs, and declining revenue” as challenges that have depleted its liquidity and led to the bankruptcy filing.
A significant decrease in foot traffic led to declining revenue, while rising food and shipping costs and decreased labor availability have worsened cash flow issues.
The company hopes to close its unprofitable locations and either restructure around its remaining stores, or sell them through a court-supervised process.
Fourteen Florida locations, one in Alexandria, Virginia, and one in Brunswick, Georgia, are set to close.
The effective date of lease rejection listed in court documents is August 4 for every location. Several locations appear to have closed within the last week and are no longer listed on the Moe’s Southwest Grill website.
At least 10 locations are now marked as permanently closed on Google.
Fast Company reached out to Quality Fresca and Moe’s Southwest Grill for comment. We’ll update this story if we receive a reply.
Which locations are closing?
Here’s the full list of stores set to close as part of the Chapter 11 bankruptcy process:
- 3499 Thomasville Road, Unit 2, Tallahassee, Florida (Killearn Shopping Center)
- 2679 Gulf to Bay Boulevard, Suite 590, Clearwater, Florida (Clearwater Mall)
- 9301 Atlantic Boulevard, Suite 119, Jacksonville, Florida (Regency Square Mall)
- 2087 Collier Parkway, Land O’ Lakes, Florida (Collier Commons)
- 1583 Apalachee Parkway, Tallahassee, Florida
- 13238 North Dale Mabry Highway, Tampa, Florida
- 7869 Heneska Loop, Alexandria, Virginia (Hilltop Village)
- 12464 S.R. 54, Odessa, Florida (The Shoppes at Trinity Lakes)
- 5668 Tuscola Boulevard, North Port, Florida (Tuscola Commons)
- 7335 Radio Road, Naples, Florida
- 8192 Tourist Center Drive, University Park, Florida
- 10478 San Jose Boulevard, Jacksonville, Florida
- 10205 Canal Crossing, Brunswick, Georgia
- 3832 Newberry Road, Suite 1-E, Gainesville, Florida
- 10021 Gulf Center Drive, Fort Myers, Florida
- 33086 US Highway 19, Palm Harbor, Florida
More franchisees filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Quality Fresca joins a growing list of restaurant franchisees that have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this year.
For example, franchisees of Carl’s Jr. and Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after facing similar pressures, like rising food and operational costs and reduced foot traffic.