Another high-profile restaurant chain is shrinking — and Los Angeles is taking a hit.
True Food Kitchen, the health-focused chain once backed by Oprah Winfrey, says it plans to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy with roughly $42 million in debt.
The company is closing 12 restaurants, including multiple Southern California locations, some of them shutting down virtually overnight.
True Food built its brand around salads, bowls and health-conscious dining — and at one point attracted investment from Winfrey.
But the restaurant business has been squeezed by higher labor costs, food prices, rent, the highest-in-the-nation minimum wage for food workers and weaker consumer spending.
So even with celebrity backing, the math eventually catches up.
In California, apparently even kale can’t outrun the cost of doing business.
