The brand is seeking to maintain operational control of its restaurants, which all remain open, including Nashville's location

The Asian street food restaurant, which started in Orlando in 2011, says bankruptcy filing aims to protect the company from a lender trying to take it over.

Hawkers Asian Street Food, a Florida-based restaurant company, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, a move it says will "protect" it from an "overreaching lender." While Hawkers works under the bankruptcy filing,

Hawkers Asian Street Food, a local restaurant chain that has expanded to 15 locations across seven states since opening its Mills Avenue restaurant in 2011, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Sept.

Hawkers currently has restaurants in seven states, including Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Maryland and North Carolina.

The latest to declare Chapter 11 is Orlando-based Hawkers Asian Street Food, a 15-unit casual-dining chain that had been among the country’s fastest-growing small concepts.