JUPITER Fla. R.J. Gator’s Florida Sea Grill and Bar’s decision to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection late last month stemmed from heightened competition in the South Florida dining market, a handful of underperforming stores and high interest on debt, court papers said.
The 23-unit casual dinnerhouse chain, which was founded by Tim Timoteo in 1986, reported in its bankruptcy filing that debt totaled about $4 million, $1.3 million of which was owed to Houston-based supplier Sysco Corp. The filing said the chain had been suffering from “a decrease in sales based upon an oversaturation of restaurants in South Florida.” Published reports said R.J. Gator’s is considering selling off some nonperforming assets during the reorganization process.
The Everglade’s-themed chain operates eight company-owned locations in Jupiter, Palm Beach Gardens, Boynton Beach, Stuart, Port St. Lucie, Fort Pierce, Vero Beach and Okeechobee. The remaining franchised restaurants remain unaffected by the filing.
