Popular pizza maker closed after Chapter 11 bankruptcy moves forward

Usually, when a business files for bankruptcy it's a relatively quick process.

Sometimes a company enters Chapter 11 bankruptcy with a plan to emerge from it. In many cases, that means a buyer has placed a “stalking horse” bid.

Essentially, that's a minimum offer for the assets of the bankrupt company. The court will generally solicit other offers in order to make sure the most money possible goes to creditors.

There are, of course, other factors. Sometimes the bankruptcy court will factor in whether the buyer plans to continue operations.

If that happens, some employees keep their jobs and vendors have a chance of new orders being placed.

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There's no single formula the courts use to decide on a best offer, but in general, they try to factor in what's best for the most people. In some cases, large creditors have legal standing and can reject offers that don't give them their money back.

It's an ugly business where a lot of people end up losing, but it's the best way we have for winding down a company that can no longer pay its bills. Most bankruptcy cases take months, but some can drag out longer.

Rustic Crust has been missing from grocery store shelves for about 9 months.

Image source: Shutterstock

Rustic Crust was forced to close

Rustic Crust, which makes frozen pizza under a number of brands, had to close its New Hampshire factory in Sept. 2024. The shutdown was abrupt and surprised workers and customers.

“Pittsfield’s Rustic Crust, the town’s third-largest employer, closed its doors mid-August after nearly three decades of business, laying off dozens of workers. Employees received a letter notifying them they were being let go “due to economic and industry forces beyond our control,” New Hampshire Business Review reported.

President and founder Brad Sterl said at the time that he hoped to keep the company going.

“It was a sudden change that happened, and I’m hoping we can find a solution and to get as many people back to work as reasonably possible,” Sterl told the magazine. “It was not a planned event.”

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A press release issued by Rustic Crust shed more light on its closure.

“Unfortunately, the private equity owner was unable to continue to fund the business and both lenders, local New Hampshire bank Walden Mutual Bank and national equipment lender PMC Global, Inc., were not able to accept the terms from two leading private equity groups attempting to save the business in the last ten days,” it shared.

Rustic Crust is being auctioned off

Under court orders, Rustic Crust's “turnkey food manufacturing facility” was auctioned off on May 22. Bids were due by 3 p.m. that day, but the court has not shared the name of the winning bidder.

“This auction is a unique opportunity for interested buyers to acquire a fully operational fresh and frozen food manufacturing facility previously owned and operated by one of the largest wood-fired pizza production companies in the United States. This facility, located in Pittsfield, NH, is equipped with advanced production machinery and offers a comprehensive setup for immediate turnkey operation or easy conversion for other production needs,” according to a public notice.

A stalking horse bid of $1.375 million was placed before the auction.

The auction appears to be for the company's production facility and not its brand name or other intellectual property.

“The facility is a custom-built, 28,000-square-foot property constructed in 2014 and outfitted with state-of-the-art machinery designed for the production and packaging of wood-fired frozen pizza and shelf-stable dough products,” according to the notice.

Rustic Crust sold pizzas and pizza dough to Whole Foods, Market Basket, Hannaford, Stop & Shop, and Publix, as well as other smaller retailers.