SEATTLE — Sur La Table, the Seattle-based company that built a savory brand around high-end kitchenware and upscale cooking, has filed for bankruptcy protection and will shutter 56 of its 121 remaining locations.
Wednesday’s Chapter 11 filing, which could see the heavily indebted company sold to a New York investment group, comes just two weeks after news that Sur La Table had laid off roughly a fifth of its corporate staff and was considering closures of five retail locations.
The much more extensive measures announced Wednesday are part of a turnaround strategy for a company that has been hammered both by the pandemic and the broader pressures on bricks-and-mortar retail.
The bankruptcy and sale “process will result in a revitalized Sur La Table, positioned to thrive in a post COVID-19 retail environment,” said CEO Jason Goldberger in a company statement issued Wednesday, which listed an affiliate of New York-based Fortress Investment Group as a potential buyer.
