Dive Brief:
- Del Taco franchisee Matadoor Restaurant Group, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protections in July, has closed all of its 14 locations in Georgia as of last week, Del Taco confirmed in an email to Restaurant Dive.
- Del Taco no longer lists any locations open in Georgia on its website and only lists one Alabama location — where Matadoor also operates — as still open. As of Jan. 16, it displayed locations in 12 Georgia cities, according to a version of the chain’s website archived by Wayback Machine.
- Matadoor filed for bankruptcy protections following financial struggles related to a decline in sales and operational costs. The franchisee, which operated 22 units at the time of bankruptcy, also took out merchant cash advance loans to help with financial gaps, which racked up further debt.
Dive Insight:
Del Taco, which Jack in the Box sold to Yadav Enterprises for $115 million last year, said that closures in the Atlanta, Columbus, Macon and Chattanooga regions of Georgia, occurred without prior notice to the franchisor.
“We are actively exploring options to reopen these locations as soon as possible,” the company said. “Updates will be shared as plans are finalized."
Del Taco has recent experience re-opening units shuttered by struggling operators. The chain reopened its Colorado stores as company-owned units last year, after bankrupt franchisee Newport Ventures closed its locations.
Del Taco had 576 locations in late 2025, but now lists 558 units on its website. During the fiscal year ending Sept. 28, 2025, Del Taco closed 32 restaurants, according to an earnings release. Del Taco was growing its unit count prior to fiscal 2025, opening 14 units during fiscal 2024 despite 12 closures. That same year, it signed 70 restaurant commitments, including 42 commitments tied to the refranchising of other units.
Del Taco’s new owner is already plotting a turnaround for the chain, which reported several consecutive quarters of same-store sales declines under Jack in the Box. According to its last earnings report under Jack in the Box, the chain posted a 3.9% dip in same-store sales, which includes a 4% same-store sales decline across franchised restaurants, during fiscal Q4 2025. The chain has struggled with declines in transactions and adverse shifts in menu mix, according to a Jack in the Box earnings call from last August.
Last month, Yadav hired several executives for Del Taco, including a chief transformation officer, chief marketing officer and vice president of supply chain, food safety and quality assurance.
