Red Onion Files for Chapter 11: The...

Red Onion Files for Chapter 11: The Red Onion restaurant and nightclub chain has filed for bankruptcy protection, citing debts from its expansion, mounting legal costs from several lawsuits and deferred rent payments that have come due.

Company spokeswoman Lisa Newman-Pittera said annual sales for the 13-restaurant chain are now about $50 million, down 10% to 15% from the 1980s. The company, based in West Covina, is still saddled, however, with high costs for leases negotiated during the 1980s, she said.

In its filing under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, the company did not list its assets and liabilities. Debts total more than $100,000, Newman-Pittera said.