Yardbird Group LLC and its related restaurant companies have received interim court permission to honor gift cards and other customer programs during its Chapter 11 proceedings, preserving a route for redemption while placing limits on payments and program changes.

The September 22 order, signed by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Brendan L. Shannon in Delaware, authorizes the debtors to maintain their customer programs in the ordinary course. It gives permission to do so; it does not require every obligation to be paid or promise that every balance will be recovered. [S01]

Gift cards and dining credits have different balances

In its September 21 application, the group estimated approximately $55,000 of outstanding obligations under its gift-card program at the bankruptcy filing. It argued that continuing redemption was important to retaining diners and avoiding a decline in revenue. That assessment is the debtors' position in the court filing. [S02]

The court's interim order caps payments relating to pre-bankruptcy customer-program obligations at $57,000 during the interim period. That limit covers the relevant customer programs and should not be read as a new estimate of gift cards outstanding.

The application also describes a separate arrangement with inKind Cards Inc. Under a June 2025 agreement, inKind provided working capital in exchange for food and beverage credits that customers can purchase and redeem at the restaurants.

The filing places approximately $3.12 million in a combined category of unsold and unredeemed inKind credits. It does not break that amount into the two components, so the figure cannot be treated as money already paid by diners for unused credits. The group separately reported about $872,738 of credits purchased and redeemed by customers.

Continued operation carries conditions

The signed order requires prior written consent from the prepetition and debtor-in-possession secured parties before customer programs are continued, replaced, introduced, modified or terminated. If the debtors cease honoring customer programs, they must file a notice with the court and serve the specified public authorities and other parties.

Those conditions make the binding order narrower than a simple assurance that gift cards will operate indefinitely. The order grants interim authority and expressly preserves the debtors' ability to dispute claims.

The filing describes three operating restaurants in Dallas, Washington, D.C., and Chicago, alongside two licensed locations in Las Vegas and Singapore. It also covers refunds and participation in Rewards Network's dining-loyalty program.

A final hearing on the customer-program request is scheduled for October 20, with objections due October 13. The reported decision is the September 22 interim order, with the final customer-program request scheduled for that later hearing.