The restaurant industry continues navigating through the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, as many fast-food and fast-casual chains battle financial distress related to reduced foot traffic, as well as inflated food prices and rising interest rates.

Fast-casual Tex-Mex chain Tijuana Flats Restaurants on April 19 filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida, after launching a strategic review in November 2023 seeking answers for turning around the struggling chain.

Related: Bankrupt fast-food chain exits Chapter 11; to expand size 4 times

The company sold the company to a new ownership group, closed 11 of its locations and filed for a bankruptcy reorganization to revitalize its restaurants and reinvigorate the customer experience.

Reorganization, however, is not an option for another restaurant chain, as Foxtrot and Dom’s Kitchen & Market, with 33 locations across the U.S., filed for Chapter 7 liquidation on April 23 after failing to recover from financial distress dating back to the Covid pandemic.

Another restaurant chain, Sticky's, will have a chance to recover from the Covid pandemic's effects through a reorganization plan.

Sticky's to reorganize in Chapter 11 

Sticky's Holdings, the parent company of New York-based chicken fingers fast-food chain Sticky's, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on April 25 to reorganize its business after suffering financial distress from reduced traffic following the Covid pandemic, rising commodity prices, and lawsuits.

The debtor listed $5.75 million in assets and $4.67 million in liabilities in its petition. It's largest unsecured creditor is US Foods, owed over $449,000.

Sticky's, which opened in 2012, grew in sales from about $500,000 in 2013 to $22 million in 2023, but the Covid pandemic that significantly affected the restaurant industry starting in 2020 depressed store traffic. Revenue suffered and foot traffic has not returned to pre-pandemic levels even after the pandemic subsided, according to a declaration filed by Sticky's CEO Jamie Greer.

Rising inflation caused commodity prices to increase, forcing Sticky's to raise its menu prices, which further stifled traffic to the restaurant chain. As part of its efforts to reduce costs, the company in early 2021 exited its corporate offices on East 33rd Street in New York before its lease expired, according to the declaration.

Related: Luxury appliance retailer files Chapter 7 bankruptcy to liquidate

Legal problems drive restaurant chain to bankruptcy

The debtor's landlord filed a summary judgment on June 22, 2021, to recover the remaining rent and legal fees, which a court granted with a $600,000 award. The debtor has appealed the judgment costing the company more in legal fees.

More legal problems fell on Sticky's as on June 30, 2022, Sticky Fingers Restaurants LLC filed a lawsuit against Sticky's Holdings in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York for alleged trademark infringement violations. The costs and expenses related to the ongoing litigation has imposed significant further financial hardship on the debtor, court papers said.

The debtor on Feb. 23, 2024, entered into an equity financing transaction that converted $2.42 million in convertible notes issued Nov. 9, 2022, and due March 31, 2024. The transaction substantially reduced the debtor's short-term liquidity needs, the declaration said. However, the company's financial headwinds prevented the debtor from continuing operations leading it to file bankruptcy to seek a reorganization.

Sticky's is a chain of chicken fingers  and sandwich restaurants that serves fresh, never frozen and antibiotic-free chicken. It offers 18 in-house sauces for its chicken products.

Sticky's currently operates 12 locations, with nine in New York and three in New Jersey. It has closed two locations in New York and one each in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The company had established a franchise entity to operate potential franchise operations, but none opened.

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The 2024 NFL Draft could be a league-defining one.

There are a slew of star quarterbacks at the top, including projected first overall pick Caleb Williams, who many are saying could become a generational player in the NFL.

The NFL Draft — which begins on April 25 at 8 p.m. Eastern time on ABC, ESPN, and the NFL Network — provides an opportunity for NFL teams to bolster their roster with young talent, but it also has a slew of off-the-field effects.

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The NFL has made the draft a three-day spectacle that rakes in tens of millions of viewers and brings in a ton of fans to the host city. Here are just some of the business-related topics that surround the NFL Draft.

Draftees are receiving life-changing money (How much exactly?)

Getting drafted to play sports professionally is not just the fulfillment of a dream, but, in the case of players getting drafted to one of the major sports leagues, it tends to come with a contract worth millions of dollars.

More often than not, that's life-changing money for the draft picks. It may seem a little less so now because the NCAA has allowed college athletes to profit off of their name, image, and likeness since July 2021 — and Williams notoriously has lived in a penthouse apartment in Los Angeles while being a college player for USC.

But even projected Top 10 pick Rome Odunze explained that he never received millions to play in college, so his and the 256 other players who will be picked in the 2024 NFL Draft are about to see a complete lifestyle shift because of their new financial stability.

According to Spotrac, the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, which will go to the Chicago Bears, will receive a contract worth $38.5 million That comes over four years, putting the average annual value at over $9.6 million.

The first pick makes nearly $2 million more than the second pick – which will be made by the Washington Commanders – who will receive a little under $36.9 million, which is an annual salary of $9.2 million.

There are 32 picks in the first round — which is technically one per team, though trades affect which teams make each selection — and the drop off in salary to be made by the No. 1 pick and the No. 32 pick is massive.

The No. 1 pick actually makes over three times more than the final pick of the first round, who is set to make about $12.1 million over four years, or $3.04 million annually.

And falling out of the first round also takes a huge chunk out of a player's salary. The No. 33 pick in the draft, which is the first pick of Day 2 of the draft, makes $9.9 million in total — over two million less than the person picked right before him.

Mr. Irrelevant — the term given to the last player selected in the seventh round, which this year is pick No. 257 by the New York Jets — is still going to be a millionaire based on his contract of $4.1 million, or about 1.025 million annually.

However, not all of the late round picks make the final roster, so those players will need to secure one of the 53 roster spots on their team to ensure themselves of those millions.

Related: How Much Money Do NFL Draft Picks Make?

The NFL Draft is not a game — but it still brings in millions of viewers.

There are zero total snaps of the football during the NFL Draft. Unless you count the highlights of all the draftees from their college games — in which case, there are a ton.

But there are no live ones. And yet the NFL Draft draws more viewers than most of the championship games of other major sports leagues.

Last year's NFL Draft averaged six million viewers across the three days — but had 11.29 million on Day 1 across the three channels. That Day 1 total is higher than the number of fans who watched the 2023 MLB World Series, and was around the average of all five games of the 2023 NBA Finals.

The draft saw its viewership explode in 2020, hitting over 15 million, but that was during the start of the pandemic when there was an unprecedented lack of sporting events.

It will be interesting to see whether this year's draft will bring in more viewers considering the strong quarterback field that also includes LSU's Jayden Daniels, UNC's Drake Maye, and Michigan's J.J. McCarthy. There are also big name teams picking at the top outside of the Bears as the New England Patriots hold the third selection, while the New York Giants have the sixth pick in the draft.

Will you watch the NFL Draft?

— TheStreet (@TheStreet) April 25, 2024

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The NFL has turned the draft into a spectacle, even in person

Detroit is the host city for this year's NFL Draft, and the city is expecting over 300,000 people at Campus Martius on the Detroit Riverfront over the next three days.

According to consulting firm Anderson Economic Group, the city is "expected to exceed $160 million" in net economic effect, which is inline with the $164.3 million that was generated in Kansas City from last year's draft.

The Draft used to be exclusively held at New York City's Radio City Music Hall, but since 2015, it has expanded to other NFL team's cities and has turned into a tentpole event that cities could bid on similar to the Super Bowl or NBA All-Star Game.

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A lot of things are true about the retail industry, but saying malls are a boom town for large, legacy stores certainly isn't one of them. 

The fact of the matter is that malls have been something of a death sentence for stores that take up larger spaces and rely mostly on spillover foot traffic from mall customers to support their bottom line. 

Related: Popular restaurant chain filing for bankruptcy, closing all locations

It's not all due to covid, either. While the pandemic certainly accelerated the decline of shopping malls across the United States, in reality that trend had been going on quite a while before any of us really even knew what the coronavirus was. 

Thanks to a rise in prices, the soaring popularity of online shopping, and a saturation of the market, shopping malls across the country were quickly looking more like something out of a zombie apocalypse movie than the booming, glittery beacon of capitalism more closely associated with the 1980s. 

Of course, with the onset of the pandemic, even more malls started to falter, taking their high-rent tenants along with them. Everyone from mall operators like Simon Property Group  (SPG)  to larger flagships, such as JC Penney and Macy's begin to falter, and hushed words about bankruptcy and store closures echoed through increasingly empty hallways. 

Forever 21 has had a rough several years

One such retailer that struggled through the pandemic was Forever 21, a discount clothing store devoted mostly to younger women. In the 2010s, Forever 21 was beloved for its cheaper than cheap crop tops, sun dresses, and accessories. But as folks stopped going to malls -- and in 2020 when people stopped going anywhere -- sales came to a screeching halt. 

The retailer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September 2019, shuttering stores and ceasing operations in 40 countries. In early 2020, it sold all $81 of its remaining assets to Simon Property Group, Brookfield Properties, and Authentic Brands, determined to focus more on its central U.S. operations. A month later, it shuttered its stores due to covid.

Forever 21 back from the dead

Since the takeover (which Brookfield has since exited from), Forever 21 has been busy reinventing its name in fast fashion. It's partnered with big name designers like Herve Leger and blockbuster cultural phenomena like Barbie. 

And on April 24, the mall retailer announced it would launch its own bridal line, signaling its intent to diversify away from clothing meant just for teens or the 20-something bar scene. 

The introductory collection features 22 individual styles intended both for the bride and her bridesmaids. Some of the pieces in the line include: 

• Dresses
• Hair accessories
• Swimsuits and lingerie
• Shape wear
• Pajamas
• Cowboy hats
• Jewelry and accessories
• Shoes
• Handbags

The items range in price from $8.99 to $47.99 and sizes from XS to XL.

Most of the items are casual or meant to cater to wedding-adjacent activities, such as bachelorette parties, wedding showers, receptions, and more casual ceremonies. 

Bridal seems to be the future for more than one mall retailer. Earlier in 2023, Abercrombie & Fitch  (ANF) said it would launch its own bridal line, featuring a line of about 100 dresses and accessories with a price range of $70-$200.

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