In an effort to save their remaining sites, Bar Louie permanently shuttered dozens of locations all over the country and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

This past weekend saw the immediate closure of 38 Bar Louie restaurant locations, with no notice to employees or suppliers. The troubled chain of gastropubs is hoping to attract new investors by liquidating assets and focusing on their profitable restaurants.

According to their press release about this decision, their CEO had this to say:

"Bar Louie is a profitable business focused on long-term growth with new investors. The sale through Chapter 11 will help us to focus on our profitable core locations and expand in areas that have a proven track record of success. Most importantly, it ensures that we can continue to provide superior service to our guests, implement an exciting range of new customer-facing initiatives, expand our marketing influence, and continue to offer the 5-star experience we are known for." -Tom Fricke, Chief Executive Officer of Bar Louie

Reports are pouring in from bewildered patrons and former employees all over the country. Hundreds of people are out of work, and the only announcements going out seem to be on individual locations' Facebook pages or through Twitter.

While the company has not yet published a full list of closed locations, you can find a comprehensive list of leases to be discontinued is included in Docket 18 of the court filing documents (scroll down to Exhibit 1). For now, the remaining restaurants will continue to operate through the bankruptcy and leadership plans to be out of bankruptcy within the next 90 days.

For more information, see the official press release from Bar Louie. You can also head to the Bar Louie website, Twitter, or Facebook page to see if any additional updates are posted.

Have you noticed that the Bar Louie locations near you are now shuttered? What are your thoughts on these abrupt closures? Sound off in the comments!