Buffet restaurant chains have faced economic struggles dating back to the Great Recession in 2008 and again with the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.
Defunct dining chain Hometown Buffet’s former owners Buffets Inc. filed for bankruptcy in 2008 and 2012 before selling the company in 2015. Subsequent owner Fresh Acquisitions LLC filed for Chapter 11 in April 2021, struggling from the economic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and closed permanently.
Buffet restaurant chain Golden Corral’s franchisees also faced distress during the pandemic, and now one of the chain’s Texas operators is filing bankruptcy for a second time.
Golden Corral franchisee files bankruptcy
Golden Corral restaurant franchisee, Conroe Corral Murphy LLC, has filed for Chapter 11 protection a second time after its initial filing in February 2025 was dismissed a year later.
The Conroe, Texas-based Golden Corral restaurant operator filed its Subchapter V petition in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas on June 8, 2026, listing $100,000 to $500,000 in assets and $1 million to $10 million in liabilities.
Earlier bankruptcy was dismissed
Conroe Corral Murphy filed its first petition on Feb. 7, 2025, listing up to $50,000 in assets and $1 million to $10 million in liabilities, but the case was dismissed on Feb. 9, 2026, according to PacerMonitor.
No reasons were given in the petition for the debtor filing for bankruptcy twice or for the dismissal.
While the buffet chain franchisee has not disclosed a reason for filing for bankruptcy, many others have blamed rising costs of labor and food products that need to be passed on to customers, since higher menu prices have led consumers to balk at dining out.
Rising wages cause distress
“High-wage states/markets are amongst the hardest in the restaurant industry,” Michael J. Ingram, vice president and principal at National Franchise Sales told TheStreet’s Kirk O’Neil in an email.
“Franchisees can only raise their menu prices so far to make up for higher expenses, but as they lose customers, it becomes an uphill battle to cover debt they already have in place along with overall higher expenses,” Ingram said.
Franchisee’s road to bankruptcy:
- Conroe Corral Murphy files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Feb. 7, 2025, with up to $50,000 in assets and $1 million to $10 million in liabilities. Source: PacerMonitor.
- Conroe Corral Murphy Chapter 11 bankruptcy case dismissed Feb. 9, 2026. Source: PacerMonitor.
- Conroe Corral Murphy files Chapter 11 petition on June 10, 2026. Source: BK Alerts
The Conroe Corral Murphy restaurant continues operating and is advertising open positions on the Jooble job website. The debtor was not immediately available for comment.
The Conroe restaurant Chapter 11 came just about a year after another Texas Golden Corral franchisee filed for bankruptcy.
Another Golden Corral filed bankruptcy
South Texas Corral LLC filed a Subchapter V petition on June 17, 2025, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, listing $150,000 in assets and $1.64 million in liabilities, according to Bankruptcy Observer.
The Brownsville, Texas, Golden Corral franchisee also did not give a reason for filing for bankruptcy in its petition at the time.
Franchisee Conroe Corral Murphy is not affiliated with South Texas Corral.
Originally a budget steakhouse chain
Golden Corral, which launched in Fayetteville, N.C., in 1973, operates about 350 buffet restaurants in 39 states and Puerto Rico, with most of them run by franchisees. The restaurant chain was originally a budget steakhouse chain that competed against Sizzler restaurants when it started out and transitioned to a buffet chain in the mid-1980s.
The restaurant claims to be the nation’s largest grill buffet dining chain, according to the chain’s website. It serves all-you-can-eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner, featuring various grilled steaks, ribs, barbecue beef, brisket pot roast, meatloaf, burgers, sandwiches, chicken and wings, soups and salads, and various breakfast items.