Nick Pihakis filed for bankruptcy and 12 restaurants already closed

Nick Pihakis, owner of Pihakis Restaurant Group, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on August 6 as an individual. He listed roughly $10.6 million in assets against $44.03 million in liabilities. The filing raises serious questions about whether his remaining restaurants will survive.

How deep the financial problems run

Pihakis filed in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Alabama. Huntsville attorney Kevin Heard of Heard Ary and Dauro represents him. The case names Pihakis personally, not Pihakis Restaurant Group or its affiliated LLCs. That distinction may matter less than it appears. Most of his debt traces back to personal guarantees tied to those same entities.

Newly filed records name roughly 50 creditors claiming more than $44 million. The filing lists 14 individual loans totaling more than $23.5 million. Two of those loans stand at $9 million and $3.9 million respectively.

SouthPoint Bank carries the largest single exposure. Its total claims reach approximately $23.56 million. That figure includes a $600,000 secured claim against Pihakis’s home and more than $22.9 million in unsecured claims. Court documents tie numerous SouthPoint loans to projects including Rodney Scott’s BBQ locations, PRG Luca, Pihakis Investment Group, Pihakis Restaurant Group Management and a development in Trussville.

Several of these debts already face more than a dozen lawsuits in Alabama and South Carolina. Those suits seek more than $23.4 million in unpaid bills. Additional lawsuits of unlisted amounts exist in New York, Georgia and elsewhere.

What has already happened to the restaurant group

Birmingham-based Pihakis Restaurant Group, which includes restaurants in Atlanta, faced $13.7 million in lawsuits and liens as of May. The group operates several brands including Little Donkey Mexican Restaurant, Rodney Scott’s BBQ, Hero, Magnolia Point and Psito.

Since mid-April, the group has temporarily or permanently closed 12 restaurants across the Southeast. Closures include Psito in Summerhill and Hero Diner in Fayetteville. Several Atlanta locations now appear as temporarily closed on Google and the company’s own website.

The Hero doughnut shops had already been shrinking before this trouble started. At their peak, at least 10 locations operated across four states. The company closed its Charleston and Nashville locations in 2024, then shut a Montgomery location earlier this month after opening it in May 2025.

All restaurants tied to the Valley Post project have also closed following a lawsuit claiming more than $394,000 in unpaid and overdue amounts, plus interest and collection costs.

What the company has said

In April, the company told WBRC it had brought in consulting support to build a more sustainable path forward for its brands. The statement followed the permanent closures of Tasty Town Greek Restaurant and Lounge in Birmingham and a Hero location in Hoover. The company described the process as difficult but necessary work meant to honor its employees and guests.

The restaurant group has not issued a public statement addressing Pihakis’s personal Chapter 7 filing.

Nick Pihakis personally guaranteed many loans tied to the restaurant group’s operations, court documents show. https://t.co/xFK3LlJYD1

— Birmingham Business Journal (@bhambizjrnl) August 6, 2026

What Chapter 7 means going forward

Chapter 7 allows individuals to discharge certain debts while a trustee reviews assets to determine what can be sold to repay creditors. Filing triggers an automatic stay that halts most collection actions while the case moves forward.

Not every debt disappears in Chapter 7. Tax obligations, child support, alimony and some student loans generally survive. Debtors may keep some property depending on state and federal exemptions. A discharge typically arrives 60 to 90 days after the first creditors’ meeting.

Whether any Pihakis restaurant brands survive remains uncertain. Some Chapter 7 cases end with assets sold to a new owner who keeps operating under the same name. In many others, the brand disappears once the process concludes.