A private equity firm has scooped beer bar chain Hopcat out of bankruptcy. Under the entity Project BarFly LLC, Congruent Investment Partners and Main Street Capital bought the restaurant chain and its sibling establishments Stella’s and Grand Rapids Brewing Company for $17.5 million.

Facing mounting debt and a challenging, pandemic-strained 2020 economy, Hopcat’s parent company BarFly Ventures filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in June. In 2020 alone, the chain has closed three restaurant locations in Royal Oak; Port Saint