Dive Brief:
- LKM Convenience, an operator of the Brother’s Food Mart c-store chain in Louisiana, declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy last week, according to filings with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.
- LKM, founded in 2008, is managed by Lenny Motwani, according to the filings. It’s not clear how many Brother’s locations Motwani operates with LKM. He does not own any stores and is the lessee for his locations, Robert Marrero, the attorney representing LKM’s bankruptcy, said in a phone interview last week.
- Brother’s is known around the c-store industry for its association with Mountain Express Oil, which collapsed in a controversial Chapter 7 bankruptcy case in 2023 that continues to impact c-store owners years later.
Dive Insight:
According to a previous lawsuit in Louisiana court over unpaid overtime wages, Motwani sold leases to 27 Brother’s convenience stores to Mountain Express back in 2019, right around the time the Atlanta-based company began its ambitious growth spree that eventually led to its demise. Mountain Express owned the leases to about 50 Brothers locations prior to ceasing operations in late 2023.
In a phone call last week, Marrero said he hadn’t heard of Mountain Express. He also declined to share how many convenience stores Motwani operates today.
According to the Louisiana Secretary of State, Motwani manages 53 different registered businesses, most of which are convenience stores, car washes or restaurants. LKM, according to the registry, is “not in good standing” with the state for failing to file its annual reports. The registry notes that LKM’s last report filed was in June 2023.
Marrero said that LKM is only the lessee for one Brother’s location, and that other locations operate under Motwani’s dozens of registered entities. The strategy of using different LLCs for different locations was also used by Mountain Express and associated defunct retailer SQRL — a method that repeatedly confused attorneys handling their bankruptcy cases.
According to LKM’s voluntary bankruptcy petition, the company is in debt for about $3.5 million. Marrero said that LKM’s business was severely impacted by Hurricane Ida in 2021.
