True Food Kitchen, the health-focused restaurant chain backed by Oprah Winfrey, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and permanently closed a dozen underperforming locations, shrinking its footprint to 34 restaurants across 14 states. The filing comes after the chain's first-ever annual sales decline and a wave of leadership turnover.
True Food Kitchen Parent, LLC and eight affiliated entities filed for Chapter 11 on Sunday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, reporting approximately $42 million in total debt, including merchant cash advance liabilities, according to Nation's Restaurant News. As Bloomberg reports, the company has struggled with management turnover and the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and it now plans to pursue a recapitalization or an outright sale of the business through the court-supervised process.
A Sales Peak Followed By Decline
True Food Kitchen's systemwide sales peaked at $314 million in 2024 before dropping 0.7% to $312 million in 2025, marking the chain's first-ever annual sales contraction, per Technomic data cited by the same Nation's Restaurant News report. The dozen shuttered locations announced Sunday include outposts in Bethesda, Maryland; Reston, Virginia; Garden City, New York; and Chicago, Illinois, according to Fast Casual.
To keep the remaining restaurants running during restructuring, True Food Kitchen secured a commitment for $20 million in debtor-in-possession financing from HumanCo TFK IV, subject to court approval, Inc. Magazine reported. That financing is meant to cover payroll and vendor obligations while the company works through the sale process.
Leadership Churn Cited As A Factor
Bloomberg's Jonathan Randles reports that the company itself pointed to management turnover as a central driver of its troubles, saying frequent changes in leadership led to shifting expansion strategy, brand direction, and menu offerings. That turnover includes CEO John Williams' resignation in December 2024, interim leadership under Jim Dunn, and the hiring of Jeff Chandler as the new CEO before the bankruptcy filing, per Nation's Restaurant News.
Oprah Winfrey took a stake in True Food Kitchen in 2018 and joined its board, and Bloomberg identifies her as an investor in the chain. She remains a minority investor in the company but no longer serves on its board of directors as of this month, according to Traders Union.
A Health-Focused Restaurant Chain
True Food Kitchen was founded in 2008 by integrative medicine author Dr. Andrew Weil and restaurateur Sam Fox, with menus built around Weil's anti-inflammatory food pyramid, per Wikipedia. The Phoenix-based chain built a loyal following around that wellness positioning.
The chain's locations, including one in Walnut Creek, California, had become familiar fixtures in malls and lifestyle centers across the country.
True Food Kitchen planned a Boulder, Colorado, location, Hoodline reported in March.
Whether the court-supervised sale process and the $20 million in debtor-in-possession financing can stabilize the remaining 34 stores without further eroding the chain's health-focused identity remains to be seen as the bankruptcy proceeds in Texas.
