A March 1 court date is set in Los Angeles to discuss a plan for the parent company of Roscoe’s House of Chicken and Waffles to emerge from bankruptcy.
East Coast Foods Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March 2016. The filing came months after the company was ordered to pay $3.2 million to a former employee who won a wrongful termination and discrimination lawsuit against the soul food chain.
In filings with U.S. Bankruptcy Court, East Coast Foods estimated that it has debts between $10 million and $50 million with assets of less than $50,000. A 363-page plan filed last week outlines the restaurant chain’s plan to emerge from bankruptcy.
“There is a now a plan that could end this case and pay all the creditors 100 percent—which is rare,’ said attorney Robert Marticello, who is essentially the author of the plan. Marticello said he anticipates that it will take six years to execute the plan and completely pay all creditors.
Roscoe’s House of Chicken and Waffles, founded in 1975 by Black entrepreneur Herb Hudson, has seven southland locations including Hollywood, Long Beach, Pasadena, West Los Angeles, Inglewood, South Los Angeles and Anaheim. Plans to open a San Diego branch were put on hold last year.
