--- title: "Breaking Bad star Dean Norris’s 99-year-old Temecula restaurant files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy" url: https://badiyaa.com/dean-norris-swing-inn-cafe-chapter-11/ published: 2026-10-16T18:10:00+01:00 modified: 2026-10-16T15:21:37+01:00 section: Entertainment publisher: Badiyaa --- # Breaking Bad star Dean Norris’s 99-year-old Temecula restaurant files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy The Swing Inn Cafe’s operating company lists about $1.8 million in debts and $147,810 in assets, with $1.57 million owed to one bank, and is still serving. The company behind the Swing Inn Cafe, the 99-year-old Temecula, California, diner that Breaking Bad actor Dean Norris and his wife, Bridget, turned into a barbecue spot, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on September 25, reporting about $1.8 million in liabilities against $147,810 in assets. The petition went to the US Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California under case number 6:26-bk-18050. It was filed by Main Street Eeeatery LLC, the entity that trades as the Swing Inn Cafe, and it is a voluntary filing: the business asked for court protection itself rather than being pushed in by creditors. Anne Bridget Norris signed as the company’s authorized representative, and attorney Michael Jay Berger represents the business. The doors are still open. Norris, 63, was greeting customers lined up for tables in the rain over the weekend of October 10 and 11. ## What the filing shows The case is filed under Subchapter V, a faster and cheaper track within Chapter 11 reserved for qualifying small businesses. Court records list the company as a small business debtor with an estimated 1 to 49 creditors. The petition’s own ranges put assets between $100,001 and $500,000 and liabilities between $1,000,001 and $10 million; the summary schedule narrows that to the $1.8 million and $147,810 figures. - **Largest debt:** $1.57 million in secured debt owed to Byline Bank. - **Unsecured creditors named:** Bank Five Nine, Itria Ventures LLC, United First Capital Experts and the bankruptcy section of the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, among others. - **Status:** active, with the business continuing to trade under court supervision. The arithmetic is stark but not unusual for a restaurant. Divide $1.8 million by $147,810 and the business owes roughly 12 dollars for every dollar of assets it lists. The bank loan alone, $1.57 million of $1.8 million, accounts for about 87% of everything owed, so any reorganization plan will largely be a conversation with one lender. In plain terms, Chapter 11 lets a company keep operating while it reworks what it owes, instead of selling everything off. A filing is not a closure notice, and none has been announced for the Swing Inn. ## A 1927 diner with a TV detective at the grill The restaurant at 28676 Old Town Front Street opened in 1927 as Mother’s Cafe and took the Swing Inn name in the middle of the 20th century. The Norrises, who have lived in Temecula for more than 20 years, took it over in August 2022 and rebuilt the menu around Texas-style smoked meats such as brisket, ribs, pulled pork, turkey and chicken, while keeping the breakfast trade that regulars come for. It is the couple’s latest local venture. Bridget Norris, a former entertainment lawyer, and her husband opened the Norris Performing Arts Center in nearby Murrieta in 2018, and in 2019 he helped turn Schraderbräu, the home-brewed beer his character made on the show, into a real product. On screen, Norris is one of television’s most recognizable lawmen. He played DEA agent Hank Schrader across all five seasons of Breaking Bad from 2008 to 2013, returned to the role in Better Call Saul in 2020, and has more than 150 film and TV credits, over 40 of them as some kind of law enforcement officer. Later lead roles include Big Jim Rennie in Under the Dome and Uncle Daddy in Claws. ## What locals are saying Temecula City Council member Brenden Kalfus posted on September 29 that he had eaten breakfast at the cafe that morning and heard the news, adding: “here’s to hoping this Old Town staple has plenty of good years ahead.” Neither Norris has commented publicly on the case. The next documents to watch on the docket are the company’s reorganization plan, which only the business itself can file in a Subchapter V case, and any objections from its creditors. ## Further reading - [Wikipedia: Dean Norris](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dean_Norris) *Image: Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons* *This article was produced with AI assistance and reviewed by our Editorial Desk. [How we work](https://badiyaa.com/editorial-policy/).*