Popular S.F. Italian restaurants file for bankruptcy
A San Francisco favorite for wood-fired pizza has filed for bankruptcy at two of its four locations.
Fiorella entered filings for its Richmond District and Sunset District locations, each operated by different limited liability corporations, for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The filing type allows owners to continue operating a business while restructuring debt.
Co-owner Brandon Gillis emphasized that the two restaurants would not be closing.
'These are calculated decisions that were made based on keeping our great team and continuing to feed people,' Gillis said.
Fiorella filed for bankruptcy for the Richmond District location, at 2339 Clement Ave., on Tuesday. Court documents show Project Pizza, LLC, which owns the location, owes just over $1 million to creditors including wine distributors, meat purveyors and the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Documents show the company has $78,855 in assets.
The operator of Fiorella's Sunset location at 1240 Ninth Ave., Project Pizza Sunset LLC, filed for bankruptcy on April 1; it held $499,481.74 in assets, according to the filing, while its total liabilities were between $500,000 and $1 million at the time of the filing.
Fiorella operates another two San Francisco locations under separate LLCs: one in Russian Hill, 2238 Polk St., and its latest in Noe Valley, at 4042 24th St. The restaurants share similar menus, with pizza and pastas plus specials. Co-owners Boris Nemchenok and Gillis founded the first Fiorella in the Richmond a decade ago.
Gillis is hopeful for the future of his restaurants.
'I'm a really strong believer in San Francisco and I feel like the city is starting to reach a place where we can rebound,' he said.
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