Barfly Ventures
The firm represented BarFly Ventures, a specialty casual food and bar concept with craft beer and made-from-scratch kitchen cooking, that was founded in 2008 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. BarFly expanded its operations, which included Grand Rapids Brewing Co. and Stella’s Lounge, into eight states in the Midwest. In 2020, BarFly was one of many restaurant chains that succumbed to the effects of the COVID-19 global pandemic. In response, the firm advised BarFly, securing a $6 million federal PPP loan that was used to offset rents and employee expenses while the restaurant chain weathered federal and state shelter-in-place orders prohibiting BarFly from operating for several months. BarFly orchestrated its reopening with a chapter 11 filing that was used to shed unprofitable locations so that BarFly’s assets could be marketed and sold to the highest bidder. The firm advised BarFly in its operational restructuring, and the bankruptcy court approved the sale of substantially all of its assets, preserving BarFly as a going concern and saving hundreds of jobs.
