SSCP Management to buy Corner Bakery out of bankruptcy

Corner Bakery operates approximately 140 outlets having closed 35 stores since 2019 | Photo credit: By John Phelan CC BY-SA 3.0

Multi-brand franchisee SSCP Management is set to buy US bakery café chain Corner Bakery out of bankruptcy. 
 

The Texas-based restaurant operator, which has 80 Applebee's stores and more than 40 Sonic outlets within its portfolio of brands, won an auction to buy the 138-unit bakery café chain with a $15m bid. 

SSCP Management had previously purchased all of Corner Bakery’s debt. 

Corner Bakery, which relied heavily on office catering and on-the-go footfall, filed for bankruptcy in February 2023. 

The bankruptcy documents stated that while many Corner Bakery stores remained profitable, fewer workplace catering clients and lower commuter traffic during the pandemic led to too many outlets underperforming. 

These challenges were compounded by rising inflation and raw materials costs, supply chain disruption and a challenging labour market, forcing the chain to default on its credit facility last year.  

SSCP Management is also the parent company of 300-strong restaurant chain Cicis Pizza, which it purchased in a bankruptcy auction in March 2021, and Roy’s, an upscale casual-dining chain with four outlets across California and Florida. SSCP purchased Roy’s from Bloomin’ Brands Inc. for an undisclosed sum in 2015. 

In addition to restaurant chains, SSCP Management also owns more than 75 retail and multifamily properties, comprising restaurants, apartments, medical offices and industrial buildings.