California-based diner chain files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after 36-year run

Just over a month after closing its Calabasas location, a beloved Southern California diner chain is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Marmalade Cafe, which opened its first location on Montana Ave in Santa Monica in 1990, filed for Chapter 11 on Wednesday, citing, “rent disputes and mounting supplier debts.”

The chain had expanded to eight restaurants across SoCal, though four had closed in recent years, including two this year alone.

The Calabasas restaurant closed on August 1, while the Santa Monica location on Santa Monica Boulevard closed a month prior, which the company attributed to, “unsustainable financial losses and a lack of rent relief,” in the filing.

They also closed the Original Farmer’s Market location in May 2026, with the original Montana Avenue location in Santa Monica closing in May 2024.

The filing also added that the company once employed upwards of 200 people, though they started downsizing in 2024 and their footprint dwindled to approximately 50 employees in mid-2026.

There are just four Marmalade Cafe locations still open in Malibu, El Segundo, Sherman Oaks and Westlake Village.

The company’s balance sheet included in the filing listed total assets of $12.7 million, though their net income was -$680,314.

While they listed between 50 and 99 creditors, they identified 20 by name, with unsecured debts totaling over $2.4 million.

Some of its largest unsecured debts include Gilmore Farmers Market ($481,150), US Foods Inc. ($394,711), California Department of Tax and Fee Administration ($349,014), Sunrise Produce ($293,239), Sysco Ventura Inc. ($239,603), Global Merchant ($141,952) and K&M Food Service ($116,067).

It’s unclear if the Chapter 11 proceedings will result in the four existing restaurants closing as of yet.

The Marmalade Cafe is not the first restaurant chain to go the Chapter 11 route as of late, on both coasts, it seems.

Just last month, New York’s Fireman Hospitality filed for bankruptcy, citing cash flow issues that stemmed from the COVID-19 lockdowns that started in 2020.

Also last month, the Red Lobster in Palm Desert shut down after 14 years in operation, while Salad and Go also filed for bankruptcy and closed all of its locations in August as well.

Back in May, fast food chain Carl’s Jr. closed 49 Southern California locations and On the Border closed 60 locations across the country in June.

Mountain Mike’s Pizza and 801 Chophouse also filed for Chapter 11 protection earlier this year.

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