Oprah Can't Save You From Bankruptcy

Oprah Winfrey can do a lot of things: give you a car, get you to read, inspire a hilarious “Saturday Night Live” skit. But we’ve found one crack in the legendary media maven’s track record of wins. Surprisingly, it seems she can’t save a company from bankruptcy.
In 2003, the then-talk show queen bestowed her stamp of approval on the macaroni and cheese served up by Delilah’s at the Terminal, a southern-style eatery located in Philadelphia’s Reading Terminal Market. Oprah deemed it the best mac and cheese in the country, and buzz followed.

But even Oprah’s praise and tasty southern delicacies like fried chicken and collard greens couldn’t keep Delilah’s in good financial health. Southern Girl Inc., which does business as Delilah’s at the Terminal and Delilah’s at 30th—the restaurant’s outpost at downtown Philadelphia’s 30th Street train station—sought bankruptcy protection on Friday, listing assets of up to $50,000 and debts of $500,000 to $1 million.

Despite its steep debt-to-asset ratio and inability to pay its debts as they come due, Delilah’s, which is led by President Delilah Winder, seems determined to see her company emerge from Chapter 11 intact. The company is seeking permission to tap the cash securing its debt, saying the move could fund operations at both Delilah’s locations and help the company generate $55,000 in proceeds next month. With the cash collateral in hand and the ability to pay its expenses, Southern Girl said it would be able to “facilitate its reorganization and enhance the collateral and going concern of its restaurants.”

The company also wants permission to continue paying its nine employees, calling the move “critical and essential to employee morale and future business needs.” A hearing on that request, made Tuesday, has been set for Sept. 2.

Before she was signing off on bankruptcy forms, Delilah herself had a few moments in the spotlight, going on to write her own cookbook and appear on the Food Network following the Oprah nod. But her brush with celebrity chef Bobby Flay on his competition series “Throwdown! With Bobby Flay” didn’t lend credence to Oprah’s take on Delilah’s signature dish. Flay’s version of mac and cheese took the prize in the competition.

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