Pelican Gets Line of Credit: The Rusty...

Pelican Gets Line of Credit: The Rusty Pelican seafood chain Friday got a $650,000 line of credit approved for use while it is under the protection of the federal bankruptcy courts, and a lawyer for the chain said it could be out of bankruptcy by the end of the year.

Rusty Pelican filed for bankruptcy last month, saying it could not pay the debt it took on in a leveraged buyout in the 1980s. (In a leveraged buyout, the buyer of a company borrows against its future sales to finance the purchase.)

The San Juan Capistrano-based chain closed six of its 18 restaurants when it filed for bankruptcy.

The chain is negotiating for a much larger line of credit, said bankruptcy lawyer Marc Winthrop, that will help it emerge from bankruptcy.

The company’s plan to reorganize itself and emerge from bankruptcy should be filed within 30 days, Winthrop said after Friday’s hearing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Santa Ana.