Mama's Meatball owners file for bankruptcy to restructure debt

The owners of Mama’s Meatball in San Luis Obispo and Mistura in Paso Robles have filed for bankruptcy to restructure their debt, a move the couple says will not lead to layoffs nor the closure or sale of their restaurants.

Nicola Allegretta and his wife, Jackline Ortiz De Zevallos Allegretta, filed for Chapter 13 under the federal bankruptcy code in February, which allows them to consolidate their debts into one payment with a lower interest rate, Nicola Allegretta told The Tribune. Under this chapter, debtors propose a repayment plan to make installments to creditors over three to five years.

“We needed to re-establish our debts and will pay everybody,” Jackline Ortiz De Zevallos Allegretta said. “We are a family business and part of the community, and we don’t come from a chain of any kind. We’re here to stay. We’re not going to go anywhere.”

The bankruptcy documents list $556,088 in total liabilities and $212,473 in total assets.

The documents also list the couple’s other businesses: Haute Catering & Events and Nico Farms. The catering company will remain unaffected, they said. But the start-up farm operation that they opened last year to provide farm-to-table produce for their restaurants and other customers has closed.

Nicola Allegretta has owned Mama's Meatball in The Creamery in San Luis Obispo since 2006. He sold his Avila Beach and Oceano locations in 2009 and 2010 and began branching out into a new type of restaurant, Mistura, that would draw on the Peruvian background of his wife. Mistura opened last year at the River Oaks Golf Course in Paso Robles.

The couple declined to disclose annual revenue or profits for their businesses, but they said they’re going well enough to support planned expansions.

Proposed renovations to the Creamery building, a space they lease, include adding a bathroom and more seating at Mama’s Meatball.

At Mistura, they will add a Sunday brunch menu starting this weekend followed by a Tuesday through Saturday lunch menu starting in mid-May; that’s in addition to their existing dinner menu.

“Were happy to be here and happy to support our community,” Jackline Ortiz De Zevallos Allegretta said.

This story was originally published April 3, 2015 at 5:34 PM with the headline "Mama's Meatball owners file for bankruptcy to restructure debt."