Bowling-based “eatertainment” chain Pinstripes Holdings, once hoping to expand to 150 sites nationwide, filed for Chapter 11 protection from creditors netted under mounting debt, declining sales, and increasing costs. After being founded by entrepreneur Dale Schwartz in 2007, the company declared bankruptcy on September 8, 2025, and is now seeking a buyer in an expedited auction.
Financial crisis behind the filing
The company based in Northbrook, Illinois, filed for bankruptcy with over $143 million in secured debt, plus about $47 million in unsecured debts owed to vendors, suppliers, landlords, and tax authorities. Its total liabilities range from $100 million to $500 million, a stark contrast from a company valued at $520 million upon going public in December 2023.
The bankruptcy filing went on to state that it was “over a year in the making” as company executives admitted that deteriorating economic conditions, rising food and labor costs, and declining same-store sales had eaten away at their alternatives for restructuring. Same-store sales within the company’s fiscal third quarter were reported to be down by 7.7%, marking the last earnings report published before the filing.
Quick store closures and downsizing of operations
With the bankruptcy filing, Pinstripes hastily closed ten of its eighteen locations on Monday, September 9, leaving only eight venues. Chicago, Fort Worth, Overland Park (Kansas), Paramus (New Jersey), Walnut Creek (California), and a few more locations fell victim to the closures. Remaining operational venues are located in Bethesda (Maryland), Cleveland (Ohio), Edina (Minnesota), Georgetown, Northbrook (Illinois), Oak Brook (Illinois), San Mateo (California), and South Barrington (Illinois).
The company’s aggressive expansion strategy of opening its newest establishment in Walnut Creek in November 2024 has in fact been its downfall, as construction costs on new stores in its development pipeline have left Pinstripes unable to service any debt obligations.
The stalking horse bid and auction process
Silverview Credit Partners, which is Pinstripes’ largest secured creditor with over $115 million in debt, has decided to serve as the stalking horse bidder in the impending bankruptcy auction. Their initial bid consists of a $15 million credit bid plus $1.6 million in cash, totaling $16.6 million for the company’s assets. Silverview is also willing to provide up to $3.8 million in debtor-in-possession financing to help sustain the company during the bankruptcy process.
Court filings stated that while the bankruptcy process “is not perfect, and it is not where the debtors wished they were right now,” it remains “the only pathway forward that preserves value for the debtors’ constituents and preserves the debtors’ business as a going concern.”
From public company to financial ruin
From promising a public company to bankruptcy, Pinstripes manifested all the typical challenges for someone in “eatertainment”. The company went public via the merger with Banyan Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), in January 2024, and had gross proceeds of $70 million geared to support its expansion plans. But the stocks plummeted in no time and remained below $1 since September 2024.
As of March 2025, Pinstripes was headed for de-listing from the New York Stock Exchange due to inadequate market capitalization, although it received a $7.5 million lifeline loan from Oaktree Capital Management, which subsequently secured an 85% equity stake in Pinstripes. Despite all these moves, the company continued suffering from cash crunches and breaches of covenants.
The vision of the founder vs. Market reality
Dale Schwartz, who founded Pinstripes in 2007 after two successful careers in biotechnology and pharmacy retail, had big plans for this combination of dining in an upscale version of Italian-American fare together with bowling and bocce courts. Average venue size was about 26,000 to 38,000 square feet, and revenues ranged from $7 million a year upwards, with food and beverage accounting for about 80%.
Among some of Schwartz’s earlier endeavors included co-CEO of Pharmaca Integrative Pharmacy; he held various executive positions at biotechnology companies and has early career experience at Morgan Stanley in the mergers and acquisitions sector. Schwartz’s vision of creating upscale entertainment facilities for everything from date nights to weddings hit the hard realities wrought by inflation and changed consumer behavior.
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