Maines Paper & Food Service Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the Delaware Bankruptcy Court on June 9 after months of business struggles caused primarily by the COVID-19 pandemic and closures or reduced business from hotels and restaurants.
Maines Paper & Food Service, Inc., a large foodservice distributor servicing restaurants and hotels in most of the eastern, southern, and midwestern states, is represented by Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones.
Maines transports food and supplies for Burger King, Tim Hortons, Olive Garden, and Longhorn Steakhouse, among others. Its principal place of business is in Conklin, New York. The company estimates it has between 1,000 and 5,000 creditors and between $100 million and $500 million liabilities with less than $10 million in assets.
This filing follows multiple lawsuits from some of their supply companies for breach of contract claiming Maines did not pay for products they picked up and delivered in recent months. These lawsuits included a lawsuit from Koch Meat Co. Inc. claiming over $2.5 million and another from Perdue farms claiming over $1.4 million. The company lists over $11 million in debts each to Coca-Cola North America and Restaurant Services, Inc., a Burger King supplier.
Maines was acquired by Lineage Logistics this May according to press releases from both Maines and Lineage. “The COVID-19 pandemic, including the ‘shelter-in-place’ protocols enacted by the States has had a devastating impact on the food service and hospitality industry. Maines has not been spared by the COVID-19 pandemic,” the press release from Maines states.
Lineage Logistics claims to be the largest “innovative provider of temperature-controlled logistics solutions.” Greg Lehmkuhl, Lineage’s President & CEO said the company looks forward to helping the food supply chain and preserving jobs for Maines employees.
“To complete this acquisition in the midst of a worldwide pandemic while the nation is facing economic headwinds is extraordinary, but we continue to bet on America and are thrilled to further support our front line heroes in the food supply chain, like those at Lineage and Maines,” said Lehmkuhl.
Maines Paper & Food Service also filed for bankruptcy for their Chicago, Dallas, Great Lakes, Maryland, Mid-Atlantic, New England, NY Metro, Ohio, Tennessee, and Worcester entities. The Maines Funding Corporation and Warehouse & Logistics, Inc. entities also filed for bankruptcy each with unanimous consent from the boards of directors.
