Carlsbad-based Rubio’s Mexican fast food chain filed for bankruptcy Monday in Delaware.

Rubio confirmed the deposit In a statement released on Monday:

Rubio’s … today announced that it has reached an agreement on a comprehensive financial restructuring with its sponsor, Mill Road Capital, and its lenders, funds managed by Golub Capital, to recapitalize the company. To implement the restructuring, the company submitted a pre-prepared plan to accept lenders, and voluntarily file petitions for protection under Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code in the US Bankruptcy Court for Delaware County.

The chain has more than 150 locations with more than 3,500 workers in California, Arizona and Nevada. It operates approximately six restaurants in its hometown Carlsbad, and dozens of others throughout San Diego County.

Rubio spokeswoman Anita Marie Lowry said on Monday that the company wanted to assure diners that “our restaurants are open as usual.”

The company said in a statement on Monday that more than two dozen sites – most of them in Florida and Colorado – were closed when the pandemic broke out, and will permanently close. A “small number” of other sites that had remained closed due to the pandemic may reopen as restrictions are eased.

Company founder Ralph Rubio maintained a positive tone in a quote attributed to him in Monday’s statement.

“COVID-19 has had a huge impact on Rubio, like most companies, and I am proud of how we responded to the challenge. Our investments in critical digital technologies in 2019, including online ordering, a mobile app, a new loyalty program and Rubio delivery, allowed us to transform Rapidly, with varying restrictions in state and territory … … this restructuring plan creates the long-term financial stability we need to continue serving our communities for years to come. “

The first Rubio opened its doors in Mission Bay in 1983, according to the company’s biography.