A big Hardee’s franchisee in the Midwest has filed for bankruptcy amid an apparent dispute over seller financing from its 2023 acquisition of the restaurants, according to court filings.
Superior Star LLC, a Phoenix-based operator, declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Thursday. The company has between $10 million and $50 million in both assets and liabilities, according to court documents.
The franchisee currently operates 59 locations, according to Hardee’s, though at one point it owned 93 restaurants in Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Tennessee. The company has closed at least 12 locations over the past year.
Among those liabilities is a $7 million seller note, in which a seller…