---
title: "USA Today: Cosi Restaurant Files for Bankuptcy Protection"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/104b89ce-ecc7-48ba-83a6-67c6c69935d9
source: "1851 Franchise"
original_url: https://1851franchise.com/usa-today-cosi-restaurant-files-for-bankuptcy-protection-5996
category: "Fast casual"
industry: "Restaurants"
segment: "Fast casual"
topics: ["Finance & M&A"]
published: 2016-09-28T19:14:54.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T04:14:50.959Z
image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/10484a3173bd7237248b2bfe4460dbae2763160928142354.jpg
---

# USA Today: Cosi Restaurant Files for Bankuptcy Protection

**TL;DR:** Cosi Inc. has filed for bankruptcy, closed 40% of company-owned restaurants, and is up for sale. The company has recorded operating losses of $15.5 million, $15.8 million and $11.5 million in the past three years.

*originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2016-09-28. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/usa-today-cosi-restaurant-files-for-bankuptcy-protection-5996).*

## Story

Cosi Inc., announced today that it has filed for bankruptcy, closed 40 percent of company-owned restaurants and is up for sale. The move comes just one month after Cosi terminated CEO R.J. Dourney, following the company’s statement that it would not generate positive cash flow in the third quarter as it had anticipated.

Cosi has recorded operating losses of $15.5 million, $15.8 million and $11.5 million in the past three years, respectively. The constant losses have forced the company to change CEOs, explore sales processes and undertake complex stock transactions just to stay afloat.

“This was a difficult step, but it was necessary to address our liquidity issues,” Patrick Bennett, interim CEO of Cosi, said in a statement. “We believe this process will allow the company to right-size its balance sheet, reduce its debt, and focus on improving the business and stabilizing the brand.”

## Entities

- 1851 Franchise (publication)
- Restaurants (sector)
- bankruptcy filing (topic)
- restaurant closure (topic)
- company sale (topic)

---
Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/usa-today-cosi-restaurant-files-for-bankuptcy-protection-5996). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/104b89ce-ecc7-48ba-83a6-67c6c69935d9).