The company that owns popular Sweet and Savory restaurant and its new sister unit, The Pub at Sweet and Savory, both near Wrightsville Beach, has filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy, but the owner emphasized that the businesses are not closing.

“We’re planning on being here for a long, long time,” Robert Shapiro said Thursday. “The future looks very bright.”

Shapiro’s Mmm So Good Ltd., is listed as the debtor in the Oct. 29 voluntary petition listing the company as having 50-99 creditors that it owes between $1 million and $10 million. Creditors holding Mmm So Good’s 20 largest unsecured claims are owed $1,021,490, while company assets total $100,000 to $500,000, according to the petition.

Shapiro described the filing as a way to restructure debt acquired via development of The Pub at Sweet and Savory, which opened in August at the former Kefi, 2012 Eastwood Road, next door to the original Sweet ’n’ Savory, 1611 Pavilion Place.

Pub construction went over budget, and the restaurant opened behind schedule, Shapiro explained. He said that collateral-strapped Mmm So Good did not qualify for a bank loan.

“I want to pay everybody 100 cents on the dollar, but I need time,” he said. “I needed to do this to hold off the creditors until spring.”

“This is what we’re doing to ensure our survival,” Shapiro said, emphasizing that the filing is a Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which allows firms to reorganize debt and emerge financially healthy and able to pay creditors, as opposed to a Chapter 7 filing, which requires firms to sell off assets in order to pay creditors.

Shapiro was upbeat about both restaurants, but especially The Pub at Sweet and Savory, which he said has nailed a stellar menu comparable to Wilmington’s fine-dining restaurants.

This is the second Wilmington restaurant to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in recent weeks.

Surf’s Bar and Grille, located at 5500 Market St., Suite 100 in the Promenade at North Market Shopping Center, filed for bankruptcy on Oct. 25 to restructure back taxes it owed the state.

J. Elias O’Neal contributed to this report.