A Village Inn franchisee has filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for three Florida locations in Land O Lakes, Brandon, and Zephyrhills, court papers show. The petitions list more than $85,000 in assets and over $234,000 in liabilities, while declining reven
The breakfast shift didn’t stop—at least not yet—for the three Village Inn locations now caught inside a Chapter 11 filing.
On June 10, a franchisee filed petitions in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida seeking Chapter 11 protection for Village Inn locations in Land O Lakes. Brandon. and Zephyrhills. Fla. The lead debtor is VI Land O Lakes LLC. and the filings were made for those three sites through the St. Petersburg, Fla.-based operator.
In the paperwork, VI Land O Lakes LLC listed over $85,000 in assets and over $234,000 in liabilities. The debtor did not provide a specific reason for filing for bankruptcy in its petition.
The creditors named in the petitions read like the costs of staying open when the math no longer works: the Florida Department of Revenue is owed $48. 000; First Citizen Bank is owed $47. 000; US Foods is owed $41. 000; Sysco Food Service is owed $35. 000; and the Internal Revenue Service is owed $29. 000.
A manager at the Land O Lakes Village Inn location said all three locations in bankruptcy are operating as normal, with no plans for closures. Lloyd Lehan IV, the franchisee’s managing member, did not respond to a request for comment.
Court documents also point to pressure building over time. The debtor’s three Village Inn locations have faced declining revenues over the last two years. dropping from about $2.02 million in 2024 to $1.9 million in 2025—a 3.45% decline. According to the petition. revenue is on pace for another decline this year. with the company reporting over $658. 000 earned through June 10.
Those figures land in a broader restaurant franchise squeeze that’s been tightening across the sector. Rising labor and food product costs have been passed on to customers through higher menu prices. and those higher prices have started to deter diners. Michael J. Ingram. vice president and principal at National Franchise Sales. put the pressure in plain terms: “High-wage states/markets are amongst the hardest in the restaurant industry.” He added that franchisees can only raise menu prices so far—until fewer customers make it harder to cover debts already in place alongside higher overall expenses.
The Village Inn filing isn’t the only Chapter 11 move tied to the franchise’s Florida footprint. Several Village Inn franchisee locations in the Tampa area have also filed for Chapter 11 protection to resolve financial issues related to hurricanes Helene and Milton in 2024. the Tampa Bay Business Journal reported. The debtor in the Land O Lakes. Brandon. and Zephyrhills cases has not indicated whether hurricanes caused economic issues for its three locations.
Village Inn, a 68-year-old breakfast restaurant chain that launched in 1958 in Denver, currently has 109 locations in 19 states, according to its website.
The wider pattern behind these filings is difficult to miss. Franchisees of other chains—including Carl’s Jr., Wendy’s, Pizza Hut, and Papa John’s—have announced recent closings of troubled locations.
Carl’s Jr. is one of the clearest examples in the story’s most immediate neighboring corner. Its franchise operator, Sun Gir Inc. (La Palma, Calif.), filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on April 2 and announced that it would divest all 59 of its restaurants. The operator planned to sell 49 locations. mostly in Southern California. and decided to close the remaining 10 stores after failing to find a buyer for underperforming restaurants.
For Village Inn. the court date on the calendar—June 10—comes with a quieter headline for now: the Land O Lakes manager said the doors are still open. and the sites are still operating as normal. But the filings show liabilities that must be addressed and revenue that has been slipping for two straight years. setting up the question that bankruptcy courts are built to answer—what happens to those obligations when the business is no longer growing fast enough to carry them.
Village Inn franchisee Chapter 11 bankruptcy VI Land O Lakes LLC Land O Lakes Brandon Zephyrhills Florida restaurant franchise declining revenue labor costs food costs hurricanes Helene and Milton National Franchise Sales
Land O Lakes is basically doomed anyway, so this doesn’t surprise me.
Wait, Village Inn is filing Chapter 11 but they’re still operating? So like… is it just paperwork or are they actually closing soon?
I don’t get how they owe like $48k to the Department of Revenue and just keep serving breakfast. Also $234k in liabilities doesn’t sound that crazy to me, but what do I know. Maybe the pancakes are the real problem.
This is what happens when everything is expensive now. But I saw “declining revenues” and thought they meant like the store revenue dropped because people stopped eating eggs… which is wild because I still see cars there. They should’ve raised prices slower or something. Court stuff is always confusing, and then you hear “Chapter 11” and think they’re done the next day.