Through a real estate consulting and advisory agreement, we were able to provide an exit strategy for Upper Crust Pizzeria that delivered maximum return on the assets while working within a short wind-down timeframe.

Upper Crust is a chain of gourmet pizzerias headquartered in the Eastern United States. The company filed for bankruptcy, excluding its intellectual property and six of its franchised operating stores, following a series of labor and ownership disputes. The bankruptcy estate needed a partner to work within an ambitious one-month project timeline while extracting the maximum value of the assets and looked to Gordon Brothers to realize that goal.

We then became involved to support Upper Crust’s exit from ten of its locations and dispose of the assets, which included leasehold interests for the restaurants and one commissary facility, furniture, fixtures and equipment and liquor licenses.

Through aggressive multi-channel marketing, we yielded 128 prospects, which resulted in 31 qualified bids with high bids approaching $1.0 million in the aggregate. The gross proceeds to the estate exceeded $1.65 million which achieved an additional 75% return in proceeds above the initial offers received.

Today the remaining Upper Crust locations are operating successfully in the chain’s core market.