The pizza restaurant industry has been downsizing this year, with major chains closing hundreds of underperforming locations.Mountain Mike’s Pizza chain has been a contrarian over the last two years, adding dozens of new locations. The expansion mode, however, hasn’t prevented one of its franchisees from filing for bankruptcy protection.Rogue Fare LLC, a franchisee that operates five Mountain Mike’s Pizza restaurants in Oregon, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to reorganize its business.
Medford, Ore., Mountain Mike’s franchisee files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.Michael Vi / Getty Images
Mountain Mike’s franchisee bankruptcyThe Medford, Ore.-based pizza chain franchisee filed its petition in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Oregon in Eugene on July 1, listing up to $50,000 in assets and $1 million to $10 million in debts, according to court papers.The debtor’s largest creditors include First Bank of the Lake, owed over $2.9 million; First Internet Bank of Indiana, owed over $1.5 million; the U.S. Small Business Administration, owed over $120,000; Credit Associates Inc., owed over $63,000; Parifin-DoorDash, owed over $13,000; and Performance Food Group, owed over $10,000.Rogue Fare operates Mountain Mike’s Pizza restaurants in Klamath Falls, Grants Pass, Roseburg, and two locations in Medford, according to a May 22, 2024, filing with the Oregon Secretary of State office.The debtor did not give a reason for filing for bankruptcy in its petition.Rising prices reduce pizza salesRising pizza prices have been a major reason for a decline in industry sales, according to Technomic’s 2025 Pizza Consumer Trend Report.“Taste, value, convenience and variety are prime factors in capturing potential pizza customers, according to Technomic’s 2025 Pizza Consumer Trend Report. But the research firm’s data show that the average price of a pizza is $17.61, up 3% year over year and more than 15% in the last five years,” Restaurant Business reported.Those price hikes, the research showed, have had an impact on pizza sales, with 35% of consumers ordering restaurant pizza less frequently because it has gotten too expensive. The Rogue Fare Chapter 11 filing is unusual, as bankruptcy filings are not common for Mountain Mike’s. The corporation has been in expansion mode over the last year, while other pizza chains, including Pizza Hut and Papa John’s, have been busy closing underperforming locations.The pizza dining sector has faced headwinds since the Covid-19 pandemic, as rising prices, driven by inflation, reduce consumer demand and discourage diners from eating out.Chains close 100s of locationsTroubled locations have forced Pizza Hut‘s parent Yum Brands to shutter 250 underperforming restaurants as part of its Hut Forward plan in the first half of 2026. Papa John’s, announced in its fourth-quarter earnings call that it will close 200 locations by the end of 2026.Mountain Mike’s has launched an opposite strategy, as it opened 24 restaurants in six new markets in 2025, including one in Las Vegas that is its 300th companywide location.Mountain Mikes opens 25 locationsThe pizza chain plans to open 25 new locations in 2026 as it is developing 100 locations across 16 states, according to its website.Mountain Mike’s Pizza has restaurants in 9 states, including Arizona, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Colorado, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin. The chain is currently developing new restaurants in Florida, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Virginia.The company has plans to expand further into New Mexico, Kansas, Missouri, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.Mountain Mike’s Pizza chain was founded in 1978 with a single restaurant next to Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif. The chain’s current owners, Chris Britt and Ed St. Geme acquired the pizza company from private equity firm Levine Leichtman Capital Partners in 2022, according to Franchise Times.Levine Leichtman had purchased the chain in 2017. Systemwide sales in 2021 surpassed $250 million.Britt and St. Geme were co-CEOs of Mountain Mike’s at the time of the sale. The chain consisted of 245 units at the time and now has over 300 restaurants, according to the company’s website.Rogue Fare’s Mountain Mike’s locationsKlamath Falls, Ore.Grants Pass, Ore.Roseburg, Ore.Medford, Ore. (2)Source: Oregon Secretary of StateRelated: Beloved breakfast restaurant chain closes 150 troubled locations