Mountain Mike’s franchisee declares Chapter 11 bankruptcy

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Rogue Fare operates five restaurants in southern Oregon.

July 8, 2026

A Mountain Mike’s franchisee has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Oregon. Rogue Fare LLC operates five restaurants in southern Oregon, including two in Medford, as well as Klamath Falls, Grants Pass, and Roseburg.

According to the parent company, however, the bankruptcy involves just one of those locations in Medford.

In a statement emailed to Nation’s Restaurant News, Mountain Mike’s said, “We are aware of the Chapter 11 filing involving a single Mountain Mike's Pizza restaurant in Medford, Oregon, operated by one of our longstanding and valued franchise partners. This filing is simply a financial restructuring for that individual location, which remains open and operating as usual with no interruption to guests or business. This is an isolated situation affecting one restaurant and is in no way a reflection of the overall strength or performance of the Mountain Mike's Pizza franchise system.”

The company added that it generated record sales in 2025 and is on track to open 20 locations by the end of 2026. According to Technomic data, California-based Mountain Mike’s ended 2025 with over $368 million in sales, marking a 2% increase from 2024. It also ended with 321 locations, marking a 7.4% year-over-year increase.

This is compared to the broader pizza category, which was the only category to experience a decline last year, at negative 0.3%.

According to court documents, Rogue Fare has assets between $0 and $50,000 and liabilities estimated between $1 million and $10 million. Over 340 creditors are listed, including First Bank of the Lake, for more than $2.9 million, and First Internet Bank of Indiana, for more than $1.5 million.

The filing doesn’t specify a reason for the Chapter 11 filing. Rogue Fare owner James Smith requested permission to use cash generated by the restaurants while the case proceeds. The franchisee stated it intends to continue normal operations while restructuring under Chapter 11.

Contact Alicia Kelso at [email protected]

Follow her on TikTok: @aliciakelso

About the Author

Alicia Kelso

Executive Editor, Nation's Restaurant News

Alicia Kelso is the executive editor of Nation's Restaurant News. She began covering the restaurant industry in 2010 for QSRweb.com, FastCasual.com, and PizzaMarketplace.com. When her son was born, she left the industry to pursue a role in higher education, but swiftly returned after realizing how much she missed the space. In filling that void, Alicia added a contributor role at Restaurant Dive and a senior contributor role at Forbes.
Her work has appeared in publications around the world, including Forbes Asia, NPR, Bloomberg, The Seattle Times, Crain's Chicago, Good Morning America, and Franchise Asia Magazine.
Alicia holds a degree in journalism from Bowling Green State University, where she competed on the women's swim team. In addition to cheering for the BGSU Falcons, Alicia is a rabid Michigan fan and will talk about college football with anyone willing to engage. She lives in Louisville, Kentucky, with her wife and son.

Follow her on TikTok @aliciakelso

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