7 Brew intensifies challenge to Dutch Bros for Salad and Go locations Article originally posted on Phoenix Business Journal on August 19, 2026 Arkansas-based drive-thru coffee chain 7 Brew is serious about buying former Salad and Go locations in Arizona. Salad and Go attorney Omar Alaniz told U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Alfredo R. Pérez on Tuesday that 7 Brew has “proactively engaged with us numerous times,” since Salad and Go entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and that Salad and Go’s board of directors has “carefully considered each proposal,” from 7 Brew. Salad and Go entered the Chapter 11 process on Aug. 4 with a deal to sell and transfer the real estate and leases of 65 of its locations to Tempe-based drive-thru coffee chain Dutch Bros (NYSE: BROS). But 7 Brew’s attorney told Pérez earlier this month that the company would consider litigation if the sale went through, claiming 7 Brew was part of the behind-the-scenes bidding process and made a better offer than Dutch Bros. During Tuesday’s hearing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas Houston Division, Alaniz said there are now three possible scenarios surrounding the sale of the 65 leases to Dutch Bros: Salad and Go goes through with sale to Dutch Bros – 65 locations for $105 million – but with the expectation that 7 Brew would likely ask the court to stop that transaction and force an auction for the sites Salad and Go gets Dutch Bros to agree to an auction sale for the sites against 7 Brew Dutch Bros does not agree to the auction, but Salad and Go’s board goes ahead with one. This will likely mean Dutch Bros walks away from the deal. Salad and Go’s board is currently measuring the risks and trying to understand the total costs of the different options, Alaniz said. “All of this is a very dynamic exercise,” Alaniz said. “The board takes its duty to analyze those various moving parts very seriously.” Dutch Bros has already paid $10 million as a deposit for the 65 sites and plans to pay the rest when the deal closes. A court hearing on the sale to Dutch Bros is scheduled for Sept. 1. Dutch Bros or 7 Brew could bid on entire portfolio The court was not scheduled to hear arguments about the sale to Dutch Bros during Tuesday’s hearing, but Salad and Go’s counsel brought it up because it was asking Pérez to approve plans to auction off some 82 other leases, as well as all other assets the company holds. Salad and Go believes both Dutch Bros and 7 Brew could take up more than the initial 65 locations. “If we do go to auction with Dutch Bros and 7 Brew, we are likely to give both parties the freedom to bid on the entire lease portfolio,” Alaniz said. “We believe that both parties are interested in bidding on other leases.” Salad and Go believes it can get a higher price from either Dutch Bros or 7 Brew than from other bidders, Alaniz said. Pérez approved Salad and Go’s plan to auction off 82 now-defunct leases across four states. Auction process for Salad and Go’s 82 other sites Salad and Go will auction off the assets not already claimed by Dutch Bros in two separate auctions – Arizona and Nevada leases on Oct. 1 and Texas and Oklahoma leases on Oct. 2. The bidding procedures for the site are flexible, allowing bids for all or any portion of either asset group. Qualified bidders will be able to make offers for individual locations or packages of locations. Besides the leases, Salad and Go said it will take bids for furniture, fixtures, signage, equipment, supplies and inventory located at each leased spot. Its intellectual property, including the “Salad and Go” trade name and “trademarks, recipes, proprietary operating systems, brand identity, goodwill and related intangible assets” will also be for sale, according to court documents. Find Complete Article Here: https://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/news/2026/08/19/7-brew-dutch-bros-salad-and-go-locations-ch-11-bk.html?cx_testId=131&cx_testVariant=cx_undefined&cx_artPos=0#cxrecs_s