Fast Food Chain Closing Over 70 Locations, Including in Illinois

Over 70 Hardee's restaurants across nine states, including Illinois, will be closing their doors after their franchisee filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

Per the New York Post, ARC Burger, LLC is filing for bankruptcy. This comes after a lengthy legal battle between ARC and Hardee's. ARC is alleged to have racked up more than $6.5 million in unpaid fees and royalties.

Where Hardee's Locations are Set to Close:

In total, ARC is liquidating its assets and shutting down 77 Hardee's locations across the following states:

Alabama
Florida
Georgia
Illinois
Kansas
Missouri
Montana
South Carolina
Wyoming

Last November, Hardee's filed a lawsuit against ARC alleging a breach of contract as a result of outstanding payments per a prior franchise agreement, per the New York Post. In the complaint, Hardee's said that they wanted to work with ARC on "payment defaults" by reaching agreement on a payment plan:

But ARC has refused [Hardee’s] efforts to enter into a workout agreement, and despite periodic partial payments, the total amount owed to [Hardee’s] continues to increase each week - Hardee's statement, per the New York Post

Hardee's actually terminated its franchise agreements with ARC last September, but allowed the firm to operate its restaurants while in search for a buyer. Now, those restaurants are set to be shuttered. The specific locations remain to be determined, at least to the general public.