The pizza dining sector has faced economic issues over the last year that have led to 100s of closings and bankruptcy filings.
Restaurant chains have blamed fierce competition, rising labor and food costs, and high lease rates, which have required several companies to launch restructurings.
Pizza chains close 100s of stores
Papa John’s shared in its fourth-quarter earnings call that it will close 300 underperforming restaurants, including 200 by the end of 2026. The company did not reveal a deadline for closing the remaining 100.
Papa John’s also said it would cut 7% of its workforce.
Pizza Hut‘s parent Yum! Brands in February said it would close 250 underperforming locations as part of its Hut Forward plan in the first half of 2026.
Domino’s Pizza Enterprises, the largest franchisee of the giant pizza chain, in 2025 said it would close 205 low-performing locations. Also, the global pizza chain’s Oceanside, Calif.-based franchisee North County Pizza Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on March 11, 2025, to reorganize its business.
And now another pizza chain is facing a bankruptcy filing to restructure debt. Restaurants often need to file bankruptcy to resolve issues with leases that might be unmanageable.
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Smoking Monkey Pizza files for bankruptcy
Wood-fired pizza dining chain Smoking Monkey Pizza filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to reorganize its business, according to Bankruptcy Observer.
The Renton, Wash., pizza restaurant’s parent TB Enterprises LLC filed its petition in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Washington in Seattle on May 12, listing up to $50,000 in assets and $100,000 to $500,000 in liabilities.
The debtor’s largest unsecured creditors include the Washington Department of Revenue, owed over $52,000; Sysco, owed over $42,000; Chase Card Services, owed over $39,000; Gravity Payments, owed over $37,000; Greco, owed over $35,000; and Puget Sound Energy, owed over $34,000, according to court papers.
Chain closes Spokane location
TB Enterprises operated three Smoking Monkey Pizza locations in Renton, Seattle, and Spokane, Wash., until about two months ago, when the chain closed the Spokane location at 816 W. Sprague Ave., a person who answered the restaurant’s phone told TheStreet.
The 14-year-old pizza chain currently operates locations at 613 South 3rd St. in Renton and 3111 W. McGraw Street, Unit 103, in Seattle, which remain open.
Best pizza award winner
The pizza chain was honored by Quality Business Awards in 2025 with a quality rating over 95% and was named Best Pizza in Renton, Wash., by the organization.
Smoking Monkey Pizza offers 35 different pizza varieties, as well as make-your-own options, 11 pastas, 8 sandwiches, 5 calzones, and 3 strombolis on its menu. It also features 9 different salads and 5 desserts.
Another small pizza chain files bankruptcy
Another wood-fired pizza restaurant chain, Fiorella, with four locations in San Francisco, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy for the fourth time on March 6, 2026, to reorganize and continue operating its Noe Valley location at 4042 24th Street, according to PacerMonitor.
The Noe Valley filing follows three Chapter 11 filings by Fiorella’s Project Pizza restaurants in 2025, including Project Pizza Polk LLC, located at 2238 Polk Street, on July 2, 2025; Fiorella Clement, located at 2339 Clement Street, on May 20, 2025, and Project Pizza Sunset LLC, at 1240 9th Avenue, which filed on April 1, 2025.
The restaurant chain did not reveal reasons for filing the bankruptcy petitions.
Related: Award-winning ice cream shop chain files Chapter 11 bankruptcy