By Luca Casiraghi, Bloomberg News–

California Pizza Kitchen Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Houston on Wednesday, becoming the latest restaurant chain to try to cut debt as it grapples with the pandemic.

The company, which operates more than 200 restaurants in the U.S. and abroad, has reached an agreement with a majority of its senior creditors on a restructuring plan. It’s looking to reduce its debt by $230 million, more than half of the total, and raise additional funding from existing lenders to buttress its balance sheet, according to court filings.

Casual dining chains have been struggling to stay afloat as lockdown measures force them to close restaurants. Pizza Hut franchisee’s NPC International Inc., the holding company of Chuck E. Cheese CEC Entertaiment Inc. and the U.S. arm of Le Pain Quotidien have sought bankruptcy protection since the pandemic started.

Founded in 1985 in Beverly Hills, California Pizza Kitchen was acquired by private equity firm Golden Gate Capital in 2011. The restaurant chain has been struggling in the past two years amid changing consumer behavior. The company appointed advisers in 2019 for a sale or a restructuring.

The Covid-19 pandemic disrupted the chain’s business, which generated 78% of revenues from on-site dining before the crisis. The firm closed 46 of its restaurants and obtained $30 million of emergency financing from lenders already in April, but revenues were still 40% lower than 2019 levels as of the last week of June, according to the filings.

The case is re California Pizza Kitchen Inc., 20-33752, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of Texas (Houston).

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