Struggling Garden Fresh to Sell Assets to NY Investment Firm

San Diego-based Garden Fresh Restaurant Corp., which operates more than 100 Souplantation and Sweet Tomatoes restaurants in 11 states, is selling the company's assets to affiliates of New York-based private investment firm Cerberus Capital Management L.P. and its partners.

The announcement comes about three months after Garden Fresh filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, from which it expects to emerge later this month. Terms of the deal, which received court approval Monday, were not disclosed.

San Diego-based company Souplantation has filed for bankruptcy, with plans to close between 20 to 30 under-performing restaurants across the U.S. It is still unclear how this may impact popular locations in San Diego. NBC 7’s Todd Strain reports.

No “significant changes to its day-to-day operations” are anticipated following the completion of the acquisition in late January, Garden Fresh said.

"This challenging, but necessary, process has created a stronger financial foundation," said John Morberg, Garden Fresh CEO. "Through our partnership with new owners, we plan to accelerate the guest-focused efforts we've been making to refresh our brands."

Garden Fresh, with headquarters in Rancho Bernardo, said it would emerge from the financial restructuring with between 90 and 104 restaurants, “significantly” less debt and a stronger capital structure.

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