Barbecue Restaurant Famous Dave’s Franchisee Files Chapter 11

Bizjournals.com:

The local franchisee for barbecue chain Famous Dave’s has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The Flint, Mich.-based franchisee, 3 ‘Lil Pigs of PA, opened two Famous Dave’s locations in the region last year, one in McCandless Township and the other in The Waterworks shopping center. It filed for the protection from creditors in bankruptcy court Downtown on July 8.

At the same time, Minneapolis-based Famous Dave’s of America Inc. has moved to terminate 3 ‘Lil Pigs of PA’s franchise agreement. The company filed a lawsuit against its franchisee in the U.S. District Court for Minnesota, also on July 8.

In the lawsuit, the company claims 3 ‘Lil Pigs of PA has failed to pay $120,000 in royalty payments, among other violations of their franchise agreement, which led the company to terminate 3 ‘Lil Pigs of PA’s franchise agreement on June 30.