When You Gotta Go and Sweeping Talc
Below is our initial take on recent bankruptcy-related developments:
Salad and Go files for bankruptcy, closes all locations permanently | USA Today
After a nationwide outbreak of Cyclosporiasis due to contaminated lettuce, Salad and Go, a drive‑thru salad chain with 70 locations in Arizona and Nevada, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and permanently closed all restaurants on August 5, 2026. CEO Mike Tattersfield said the business could not overcome sustained pressure on consumer demand, strategic growth challenges, and rising costs.
S&K Take: Another fast casual chain bites the dust. Admittedly being an East Coaster, I had not heard of Salad and Go before. Their locations are primarily in Arizona and Nevada, although they undertook an ill-fated expansion into Texas and Oklahoma around 2021. Surprisingly (at least to this author), the company was valued at $1.1 billion in 2022, and then things went not so well, including the recent Cyclospora outbreak . The good news is that the company only has $25.4 million in funded debt and a stalking horse offering $105 million (along with an interesting lease rejection true up mechanism). So they got that going for them, which is nice. I don’t imagine we will revisit this case, but you never know.
J&J reaches sweeping talc deal that could end decade of litigation | Reuters
Johnson & Johnson has promised to pay an estimated $5.5 billion to settle tens of thousands of lawsuits claiming the company’s baby powder and talc products caused ovarian cancer. The settlement will cover around 76,000 claims, bringing the decade-long court battle to an end if 95% of the cancer claimants accept the terms.
S&K Take: Is this the end of the J&J talc saga? This one slipped by us on July 27, btu seems worth reporting after billions in litigation expenses and three shots at bankruptcy. The settlement seemingly resolves the whole kit and kaboodle for an estimated $5.5 billion. That number, however, could be materially higher, more like $7 billion since it is uncapped and can be influenced by the types and severity of claims that exist. This seems to have broad support, although the 95% threshold is high.
