Pizza Hut abruptly and customers are worried more shutdowns could follow. The pizza giant shuttered 15 restaurants in Northwest Indiana last Friday. Employees alerted the public of the closures via social media, reported.
EYM Group is the franchisee of those 15 restaurants as well 142 other locations in Illinois, , Georgia, South Carolina and Wisconsin. The franchisee and Pizza Hut were involved in a legal battle since March. The restaurant group first filed a lawsuit against Pizza Hut alleging a breach of contract.
reported that after multiple defaults, entered into a forbearance agreement with the franchisee last year instead of terminating the franchise agreement. Pizza Hut allegedly continued to send default notices and sent a notice of termination for the forbearance period in February. EYM Group sought a preliminary injunction to protect itself from Pizza Hut’s termination of operations.
That request was denied by the court, . Then, filed its own lawsuit against EYM Group in June, also alleging breach of contract. The company claimed EYM Group defaulted on millions of dollars in payments owed to Pizza Hut.
A Pizza Hut spokesperson told The Mirror US: "While a few EYM franchise-operated restaurants in Indiana have temporarily closed, Pizza Hut remains committed to providing outstanding service and products to our valued customers. The company is working to transition these locations and expects many of them will reopen soon. Other restaurants operated by the franchisee.
