Sbarro Pizza Restaurants File for Bankruptcy Again

Have you found yourself craving a slice of Sbarro's Pizza from the mall?

Unfortunately the Italian restaurant in Cheyenne's Frontier Mall closed at the beginning of this year and a news story from yesterday's Chicago Tribune explains the reason: Sbarro LLC has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in New York for the second time in the past three years.

Last month, Sbarro said it would shut 155 of the roughly 400 restaurants it owns in North America. The local Frontier Mall restaurant became one of these closures. The company still has more than 800 restaurants in more than 40 countries. Its bankruptcy does not affect 600 restaurants owned by franchisees.

According to Moody's Investors Service, Sbarro has been facing high food, labor and occupancy costs. The chain of more than 800 restaurants has been struggling with debt for years and blames a shift in consumer tastes leading to a slowdown in business at malls where many of their stores are located.

Sbarro previously filed for bankruptcy protection in April 2011 and emerged from Chapter 11 the following November.

What would you like to see take over their empty space at Frontier Mall?