Food52, Inc. — now renamed Salt House, Inc. — filed chapter 11 on December 29, 2025 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware under case number 25-12277. What began as an emergency section 363 sale triggered by a lender cash sweep has since moved through a competitive auction, three closed asset sales, a corporate name change, and confirmation of a chapter 11 plan of liquidation. The court confirmed the plan on May 20, 2026, p. 13, approving the disclosure statement on a final basis. The debtor’s effective-date notice, p. 1 reports that the plan became effective on May 22, 2026. The trust’s first post-confirmation report, pp. 1–2, 7, 11, covering the quarter ended June 30, records no payments to general unsecured creditors through that period.
The case moved from an emergency liquidity crisis into a sale and wind-down. A December 15, 2025 cash sweep by secured lender Avidbank eliminated operating liquidity and forced immediate layoffs, leaving the company with one actionable rescue proposal. That proposal — emergency DIP financing and a $6.5 million stalking-horse bid from F52, LLC, an affiliate of America's Test Kitchen — anchored a 35-day sale process for which a later declaration reported an aggregate sale price of across three brands, with . The case has moved into post-effective-date trust administration. Historical recovery projections remain distinct from the trust’s reported payments.
$3.42 million from F52, LLC ($1.92 million interim availability)
Plan Type
Chapter 11 plan of liquidation funded by sale proceeds through the Salt House Liquidating Trust
Plan Effective Date
May 22, 2026, according to the debtor’s notice
Aggregate Sale Price Reported in May Declaration
$13.375 million
Claims Agent
Kurtzman Carson Consultants LLC dba Verita Global
Case Snapshot
Avidbank Cash Sweep and the Path to Filing
Food52 entered chapter 11 after a sharp liquidity shock. The First Day Declaration, pp. 7, 13, 15–16 of CEO Erika Badan describes Avidbank's December 15, 2025 sweep of substantially all cash from the debtor's accounts, leaving the company with a $0 account balance at Avid by December 15. The sweep eliminated the company's ability to meet payroll and continue out-of-court sale and refinancing discussions, and the debtor responded with rapid workforce reductions — terminating about 60% of employees on December 17, 2025 and another 20% on December 26, 2025.
ADWEEK described the operating deterioration behind the liquidity crisis: rising costs, a slowdown in pandemic-era home spending, and operational complexity. Its account also identified layoffs and leadership changes.
Before bankruptcy, the company retained Core Advisors and added Buchbinder & Co. to run a marketing process that contacted 211 prospective parties, pp. 7, 13, 15–16, executed 35 nondisclosure agreements, and generated seven indications of interest by mid-December 2025. After the cash sweep, only F52, LLC submitted an actionable proposal — one that paired emergency DIP financing with a stalking-horse bid and a compressed 35-day sale timeline. The First Day Declaration also describes a $1.505 million bridge loan provided by the TCG lender on December 22, 2025 to stabilize liquidity ahead of the filing.
Capital Structure and the Secured Debt Stack
The First Day Declaration, pp. 7, 13, 15–16 sets out a relatively small but multi-layered prepetition capital structure. After the December 15 sweep, Avidbank's first-lien claim stood at approximately $411,000 as of the petition date. The debtor also owed the $1.505 million TCG bridge loan provided in late December and carried a $15 million Silicon Valley Bank term loan guaranteed by TCG, along with roughly $8.3 million of ordinary-course obligations to vendors, suppliers, and landlords.
DIP Financing and F52 Control of the Case
F52, LLC entered the case as both proposed DIP lender and stalking-horse bidder. The DIP Financing Motion, pp. 8–12, 14 describes a $3.42 million facility with $1.92 million available on an interim basis, priced at 15% per annum paid in kind with a 5% default-rate premium. F52 was entitled to a 6% exit fee if it was not approved as the stalking horse; if F52 became the successful purchaser, accrued DIP obligations, interest, and fees would be credit bid rather than paid in cash.
The DIP package included priming liens, superpriority claims, a budget with a 15% permitted-variance test for total operating disbursements, and a professional-fee carve-out with a $125,000 post-trigger cap. The proposed maturity was the earliest of February 28, 2026, a plan effective date, consummation of a 363 sale, case dismissal or conversion, acceleration after default, or 25 days after the petition date absent a final order. The Interim DIP Order, pp. 32, 41 established a professional-fee carve-out and a challenge period for parties to test prepetition liens.
The Final DIP Order, pp. 23, 34, 41, 68 preserved estate claims against Avidbank and expressly stated that the order did not provide protection with respect to that bank. It also required weekly funding of a professional-fee reserve. The order listed filing a plan unsatisfactory to the DIP lender as an event of default, while specifying that a plan providing funded full cash payment of the DIP obligations would satisfy the lender.
Auction Results and Sale to F52, Troy-CSL, and Form Portfolios
The Bidding Procedures Order, pp. 11, 13 entered January 12, 2026 approved F52 as stalking horse, approved a $200,000 break-up fee and up to $200,000 of expense reimbursement, and set February 3 as the bid deadline, February 5 as the auction date, and February 10 as the sale hearing. The order also allowed the DIP lender to credit bid under section 363(k) for assets subject to its liens.
The auction substantially improved value across the three brand portfolios and broke the company into three pieces. The post-auction sale declaration, pp. 6–7 identifies F52, LLC as the successful bidder for the Food52 assets, with Static Media as backup; Troy-CSL Lighting as the successful bidder for the Schoolhouse assets, with SH Operations as backup; and Form Portfolios as the successful bidder for the Dansk assets. The filing puts the Food52 consideration at $10.3 million — a $9.9 million purchase price plus a $400,000 credit for the approved break-up fee and expense reimbursement — alongside $2.2 million in cash plus assumed liabilities for Schoolhouse and $250,000 in cash plus a waiver of administrative-expense claims for Dansk. The February sale declaration reported combined closing consideration of $12.35 million plus assumed liabilities. In May, Frizzley separately reported an aggregate sale price of $13.375 million, $6.875 million above the original $6.5 million stalking-horse baseline. Those are the respective filings’ reported figures, rather than amounts established as distributed to creditors. Frizzley declaration, p. 8
Sale orders for all three asset groupings were entered on February 11, 2026, covering the Food52 assets, the Schoolhouse assets, and the Dansk assets, and the transactions closed on February 13, 2026, as the later caption-change motion, pp. 3–4 reports. The Dansk package produced the case's clearest contested sale issue: Form Portfolios filed an objection to the sale, pp. 3–4 arguing that Food52 could not sell certain Dansk designs, the Kobenstyle mark, and related intellectual property because the governing license had terminated prepetition and the disputed rights were not property of the estate. Form argued the dispute required an adversary proceeding rather than a contested sale motion. The objection records Form’s ownership position, while the later auction declaration identifies Form as the successful bidder for the Dansk assets. These filings establish the objection and bid result; they do not establish a disposition of the ownership dispute.
Salt House Rename and the Chapter 11 Plan of Liquidation
After the Food52 and Schoolhouse sales closed, the debtor moved to change its corporate name and case caption to Salt House, Inc., pp. 3–4 because the sale agreements required a name that was not confusingly similar to the sold businesses. The motion reported that the debtor had filed the requisite Delaware name-change documentation and sought the corresponding case-caption change. On March 6, 2026, the debtor filed a chapter 11 plan of liquidation, a disclosure statement, marking the case’s formal move into a liquidation-plan phase.
The Insider Settlement and a Higher Projected Recovery
A settlement negotiated with the official committee of unsecured creditors materially improved the projected outcome for general unsecured creditors. As reflected in the declaration of Jill Frizzley, p. 9, released insiders agreed to a voluntary reduction of roughly $10.8 million in general unsecured claims. The Chernin Group affiliates agreed to reduce their general unsecured claims from $15,218,025.67 to $5,218,025.67; Erika Badan agreed to cut her general unsecured claim from $2,500,000.00 to $2,000,000.00 and not assert administrative priority; and Heidi Robinson agreed to waive a $320,350.00 general unsecured claim in exchange for a $15,850.00 cash payment, with her $17,150.00 other priority claim allowed.
That settlement cut the general unsecured claims pool by nearly 40% and, per the confirmation-supporting declaration, pp. 4–5, raised the historical estimated payment percentage for general unsecured creditors from approximately 2.6% to approximately 9%. At confirmation, the debtor also estimated roughly $900,000 in additional effective-date cash relative to its earlier liquidation analysis, attributing that projection to operational efficiencies during the wind-down.
Jill Frizzley reported that the board's Special Committee, pp. 3–4 investigated potential claims against insiders and identified no plausible or colorable fiduciary-duty claims likely to provide value to the estate. That is the committee’s reported conclusion supporting the debtor's requested releases, rather than an independent finding that no insider could face liability.
The Salt House Liquidating Trust
The effective-date notice, p. 1 states that all conditions precedent were satisfied or waived and that the plan became effective May 22, 2026. It also states that the plan’s release, injunction, and exculpation provisions became operative. The post-confirmation report, pp. 1–2, 7, 11 identifies the Salt House Liquidating Trust as the reporting entity; its notes specify that the reported activity pertains solely to the trust.
The trust’s report covers the quarter ended June 30, 2026 and was filed on August 25. Part 1 reports $14,023 in total cash disbursements for the quarter and since effectiveness. Part 3 separately reports zero payments to general unsecured creditors through the same reporting period. Total trust disbursements therefore should not be read as unsecured-creditor distributions. post-confirmation report, pp. 1–2, 7, 11
The report’s notes explain that claims reconciliation remained ongoing, allowed-claim figures were estimates subject to change, and the percentage paid represented payments to date rather than the disclosure statement’s projected recovery. The earlier approximately 9% recovery estimate remains a historical projection. post-confirmation report, pp. 1–2, 7, 11
Plan Confirmation and the U.S. Trustee Release Objection
The May 20 confirmation order, paragraphs 29–30, p. 13 approved the disclosure statement on a final basis and confirmed the plan in its entirety, as modified by the order. The briefing and objections below describe the proceedings leading to that ruling. The later effective-date notice, p. 1 establishes the reported effective date. The June 30 trust report supplies a dated payment observation; it does not establish later distributions or case closure.
Before confirmation, the U.S. Trustee objected, p. 5 that third-party releases based on inaction were nonconsensual and prohibited under Harrington v. Purdue Pharma L.P. The debtor's confirmation memorandum, p. 15 defended its notice and opt-out process as consensual, reporting 28 opt-out elections among 52 parties who submitted ballots or opt-out forms. These were the parties' positions leading to the May 20 order; the order and confirmed plan govern the resulting relief.
Date
Event
December 15, 2025
Avidbank sweeps substantially all cash from debtor accounts
December 29, 2025
Voluntary chapter 11 petition and First Day Declaration filed
January 12, 2026
Bidding procedures order entered; F52 approved as stalking horse
January 22, 2026
Final DIP order entered
February 11, 2026
Sale orders entered for Food52, Schoolhouse, and Dansk assets
February 13, 2026
Sale transactions close
March 6, 2026
Chapter 11 plan of liquidation and disclosure statement filed
May 20, 2026
Plan confirmed and disclosure statement approved on a final basis
May 22, 2026
Plan became effective, according to the debtor’s notice
August 25, 2026
Trust filed its report for the quarter ended June 30, 2026
Key Timeline
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did Food52 file for bankruptcy?
Food52 filed chapter 11 after secured lender Avidbank swept substantially all cash from its accounts on December 15, 2025, eliminating operating liquidity.
What is the status of the Food52 bankruptcy now?
The debtor, renamed Salt House, Inc., completed the Food52, Schoolhouse, and Dansk sales in February 2026, with a later declaration reporting an aggregate sale price of $13.375 million, and obtained plan confirmation on May 20, 2026, p. 13. The debtor’s effective-date notice, p. 1 reports effectiveness on May 22. The first post-confirmation report, pp. 1–2, 7, 11 records zero general unsecured creditor payments through June 30, 2026.
Who bought the Food52, Schoolhouse, and Dansk assets?
F52, LLC, an affiliate of America's Test Kitchen, was the successful bidder for the Food52 assets; Troy-CSL Lighting acquired the Schoolhouse assets; and Form Portfolios acquired the Dansk assets. Frizzley’s May declaration reported an aggregate sale price of $13.375 million, $6.875 million above the original $6.5 million stalking-horse bid; the February sale declaration separately reported $12.35 million in combined closing consideration plus assumed liabilities.
What will general unsecured creditors recover?
At confirmation, the debtor projected an approximately 9% payment percentage for general unsecured creditors, up from an earlier 2.6% estimate. The trust subsequently reported zero general unsecured creditor payments through June 30, 2026. post-confirmation report, pp. 1–2, 7, 11 The improvement followed a committee-negotiated settlement under which released insiders reduced their general unsecured claims by roughly $10.8 million, cutting the claims pool by nearly 40%.
What is the Salt House Liquidating Trust?
The Salt House Liquidating Trust is administering the post-effective-date estate. Its post-confirmation report, pp. 1–2, 7, 11 describes ongoing claims reconciliation and distinguishes total cash disbursements from payments to creditors. The debtor reported that the plan became effective on May 22, 2026.
Who is the claims and noticing agent for the Food52 bankruptcy?
Kurtzman Carson Consultants LLC dba Verita Global serves as the claims and noticing agent, maintaining the official claims register and distributing case notifications to creditors and parties in interest.
$83 million majority investment https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/food52-closes-83mm-majority-investment-by-tcg-capital-management-300927733.html
broke the company into three pieces https://businessofhome.com/articles/food52-is-broken-up-and-sold-at-auction
This article was researched and written with AI assistance, using court filings, public records, and news sources. AI-generated content can contain errors. Verify all information against primary sources before relying on it. This is not legal or financial advice. See the disclaimer.