Quick news update.

A Panera Bread in Houston has shut down.

Wait, did I say “a Panera Bread”? I meant “15 of them”.

And the franchise owner has filed for bankruptcy.

And Panera corporate says that they revoked the franchise, but the owners kept running the Paneras illegally.

Records show EYM Café began operating the 15 locations in 2019 and in May 2025, Panera Bread filed a lawsuit against the franchisee, accusing them of repeatedly breaching its franchise agreements by failing to make required payments, maintain food safety standards, and pay vendors and landlords.

…

According to court filings, Panera alleges that EYM’s payment issues began surfacing in February 2025. It says inspections by Panera reportedly uncovered “multiple food safety issues” and violations of brand standards at multiple cafés. Notices of default and termination were sent for at least 10 stores between March and May, the suit says.

In other news, DipDipDip Tatsu-Ya is closing. I’ve eaten at Ramen Tatua-Ya a few times and like it, but I never went to DipDipDip, even though I really like shabu-shabu. Part of the reason for that was I heard DipDipDip was expensive.

Lawrence attributes the closing to DipDipDip being in one of our “Restaurant Sites of the Damned”, where nobody seems able to keep an establishment in that space. I’d attribute it to 1) expensive and B) I think it is hard to sell people on hot pot when it is 100 degrees outside. Then again, the ramen places seem to be doing okay, and DipDipDip was open for six years…perhaps the ramen was subsidizing the shabu-shabu, and the owners reached their limit with that?