Back in the 1980s and 1990s, owning a fast-food place was almost like having a magic money-making machine. This was a time when you didn’t have many choices for quick food, except for maybe pizza delivery from a few places. If a restaurant had cheap eats and a drive-thru, it was super handy, especially compared to making dinner at home.

But things are different now. There’s a lot more competition. Take Chipotle, for example. They say they’re a healthier choice than the usual burger and fries spots. They use fresher stuff in their meals, even though not everything they serve is super healthy.

Now, you can also get all kinds of food delivered right to your door, not just Chinese food like before. You can choose from a whole world of flavors, like Japanese, Thai, or Vietnamese, thanks to lots of delivery services.

Then there’s what happened with McDonald’s. They got really smart with their online and digital services early on. This helped them not lose money—and sometimes even make more—during the Covid pandemic, while other fast-food places struggled.

Places like Burger King and Popeye’s, which are part of the same company, had a tough time keeping up. Recently, some of the people who own Burger King and Popeye’s restaurants had to declare Chapter 11 bankruptcy because they were losing too much money.

Popeye’s had a bit of a harder time during the pandemic because some of their stores don’t have drive-thrus. This meant people had to go inside to pick up their food, which a lot of folks didn’t want to do.

One group that owns 17 Popeye’s restaurants in Georgia said they had to file for bankruptcy because a few of their stores were losing a lot of money and making it hard for the other ones to stay open. They’ve fallen behind on paying rent for the stores that are doing okay and need to fix that to keep from getting kicked out.

The same group is planning to keep running their restaurants while they sort things out in bankruptcy court. This isn’t the first time a Popeye’s owner has had to do this; another one filed for bankruptcy last year after the owner passed away.

The company that owns Burger King has seen a few of its big restaurant owners go bankrupt since the pandemic ended. Some of these places were sold, and unfortunately, some had to close down.

However, the CEO of the company is trying to look on the bright side. He said that both Burger King and Popeye’s are starting to see more customers again and that the restaurants are making more money than before. He also mentioned that they’re helping owners who are having a hard time, by closing restaurants that aren’t doing well and helping the owners of the struggling restaurants to get back on their feet.