We Called It

(Not Quite Instant) Karma: Upper Crust Files for Bankruptcy

They're out of dough.
They’re out of dough.

In June, we began the inevitable countdown, asking: “When will the Upper Crust go under?” After all, you can only be investigated by the feds so many times, with so much worker revolt (unpaid employees!) and bad press (the CEO threatened to kill someone!) and intra-office infighting (everyone’s using company money to go on expensive vacations!), before the pizza oven goes down in flames. Well, that day is finally here: The Globe reports that, after years of woes, the Upper Crust has filed Chapter 11, reporting that the chain owes “at least $3.4 million” and that legal problems have, um, distracted management from running the business.

According to eloquent CFO Dan Hurley, founder Jordan Tobins’s “alleged misuse of company funds — including putting a down payment on a personal residence and charging yacht costs to corporate credit cards — deprived Upper Crust of cash necessary for the daily business operations and the funds needed to sustain growth.” Last week, the Waltham branch of Upper Crust shuttered. The displaced employees are supposedly being shuttled off to other UC locations, but for their sake we hope they find another company to work for right quick. Like Otto, maybe?

Related: Is Otto Pizza the New (Kinder, Gentler) Upper Crust?
Upper Crust: Giving New Meaning to the Word “Slice”?
This Just In: Upper Crust Manager Alleges Retaliation
Upper Crust Burned in Scathing Globe Article
Upper Crust Pizza Sued By Former Cooks
Could Things Get Any Worse for the Upper Crust?

(Not Quite Instant) Karma: Upper Crust Files for Bankruptcy