US Italian Restaurant Chain Bankruptcies in 2025: What You Need to Know
This year, there has been a lot of change in the casual dining industry in the United States. Several Italian restaurant companies have gone bankrupt. Increasing costs, shifting customer tastes, and competition from fast-casual and delivery-focused models have put these brands under a lot of stress, leading to closures and efforts to restructure.
The third bankruptcy of Bertucci’s Files
In April 2025, Bertucci’s, an Italian restaurant business based in Massachusetts, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. This was the company’s third bankruptcy filing since 2018. The main reasons the company gave for filing were rising costs of food and labor, a tough economy, and a change in how people eat, away from standard casual-dining brands.
Bertucci’s closed about 30% of its sites as part of the reorganization. There are now only 13 restaurants in the group across the country. Ten of them are in Massachusetts, and one each is in Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Virginia. Disappointed longtime customers who loved Bertucci’s for its standard Italian-American food are upset that the restaurants are closing.
Cheers Brio Restaurants: Struggling as Foot Traffic Drops
Bravo Brio Restaurants, which runs Bravo! Italian Kitchen and Brio Italian Grille, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in August 2025, the second time in five years. The company said that its money problems were caused by fewer people walking into shopping malls and higher food and labor costs.
Bravo’s sales fell 7.1% in 2024 and 47% since 2019, while Brio’s sales fell 5.5% in 2024 and have been falling for the same amount of time. The chain is now focused on reorganizing its business and looking for new ways to bring in customers, such as limited-time deals and better delivery and takeout options.
Pinstripes: Filing Soon
Pinstripes, an American restaurant company that serves Italian-American food and has bowling and bocce courts, is getting ready to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The business said it had to give up most of its assets in order to get $7.5 million in loans.
As the restaurant business changes, it’s still not clear if these Italian food chains will be able to restructure and get customers interested again. They might need to strategically change and update their menus to appeal to modern eaters if they want to stay in business.
