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Mark Sellers, founder of BarFly Ventures, which owns eight Michigan HopCat restaurants, has filed for bankruptcy. He warns the state can expect a "giant wave of bankruptcies" in the hospitality industry, the Detroit Free Press reports.
The news comes a day after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer gave the go-ahead for restaurants to open Monday at half-capacity.
The Grand Rapids-based company, founded in 2008, shut its restaurants in March because of the pandemic, but plans to reopen under the Chapter 11 banktruptcy on June 13. The legal protrection lets the business to move forward and restructure its debt.
Sellers told the state House Regulatory Reform Committee on Wednesday that his company's revenues are down 100% and "we're essentially barely able to keep the lights on."
