Presto, one of Colombia's best-known fast-food brands, has been ordered into judicial liquidation after a debt restructuring deal collapsed. The country's corporate regulator, SuperSociedades, ended the process on October 13, 2026, closing the chapter on a rescue plan that covered roughly 31 billion Colombian pesos (about US$9.8 million) in liabilities.
The order applies to Franquicias y Concesiones SAS, the company that operates the chain. It asked for liquidation on September 30, citing falling cash flow, unpaid administrative expenses and obligations it could no longer meet. Liquidator Monica Macias is now looking for a buyer who might take on the brand and its restaurant network — and in the meantime, the restaurants are staying open. That said, the company itself has warned this is not a promise of long-term survival; a closed chain would be far less attractive to a purchaser than one still flipping burgers.
For travellers, the practical upshot is simple: if you're in Colombia in the coming months, you can still eat at Presto. But don't count on it as a fixture of any future trip, because without a viable offer, closures could follow at any point.
There's real history at stake. Presto opened its first restaurant in Bogotá in 1981, when commercial fast food was still finding its feet in Colombia, and played a big role in popularising hamburgers across the country. It grew into a chain of more than 140 restaurants in 24 cities. Costa Rican investment firm Mesoamérica bought it in 2012 through its Mesofoods platform and pushed modernisation and expansion.
The recovery attempt ran for over three years. Presto entered Colombia's corporate reorganisation process in July 2023 under the country's insolvency law, and in April 2026 a restructuring agreement backed by 81.39% of qualified creditors was confirmed. It gave the company six years to meet reduced obligations. Instead, cash flow kept deteriorating and the company missed payments incurred even after the deal was approved, prompting the regulator to terminate the agreement and open liquidation.
The human cost is significant: under the same law, starting judicial liquidation automatically terminates employment contracts, with compensation handled under labour rules. A buyer could retain some locations and staff, but nothing has been confirmed. For a chain that has fed Colombians for 45 years, everything now depends on whether someone steps in before the business's value erodes.
Worth knowing if you're travelling: Bogotá, Medellín and other major cities have thriving local burger scenes well beyond Presto, so a closure would hardly leave visitors short of options — El Corral, another longstanding Colombian chain, remains a popular alternative.
Colombia One
