Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Upper Crust Closes Most Locations; Future of Stores Unclear

It looks like a troubled local group of pizzerias that recently declared bankruptcy has closed most of its locations, and while it could be only temporary, it is not known when (or if) they might reopen.

The Boston Globe is reporting that the Watertown location of the Upper Crust Pizzeria is closed for business, with an employee there saying that "Our company is going through some changes so we are closed for at least next couple of days." The Globe says that workers at several other locations stated that the eateries were shuttered "indefinitely," with the phones going unanswered at their Newbury Street location as well as shops in Hingham, Lexington, and Wellesley. Their Fenway and South End restaurants are having orders routed to the Beacon Hill and Brookline locations, which are operated by Jordan Tobins (the founder of Upper Crust) and are not involved in the conpany's bankruptcy proceedings.

Upper Crust, which filed bankruptcy last month, has been closing shops over the past several months, including locations in Boston (by BU), Beverly, Waltham, and Salem.

[November 13 update: A second article in The Boston Globe gives more information on the status of the Upper Crust Pizzeria. Based on information from a trustee who is overseeing the group of restaurants, Upper Crust closed last night because "it had just four days of supplies and only $14,000 in cash after company executives paid themselves a month’s salary in advance," and that the chain (presumably not including the locations run by Tobins--see above) "will shut down permanently unless (it) can get a cash infusion in the next few days." The Globe also mentions that 11 of the 16 Upper Crust locations closed.]