City National Bank of Florida has filed a lawsuit against The Salty Donut, alleging the Miami-based donut chain defaulted on a $4.8 million loan intended for the development of a Houston store. The lawsuit was filed in August in Miami-Dade County Circuit Court.
According to Johanna Castellon Vega, an attorney representing City National Bank, The Salty Donut secured the loan in October 2021 to open a location at 1658 Westheimer Road in Houston’s Montrose neighborhood. However, the store was never opened.
The bank claims that while the loan matured in January, it agreed to a forbearance arrangement with The Salty Donut in May, extending the maturity date to June 27. Despite this extension, City National Bank alleges that the debt remains unpaid.
The complaint states that company founders Andres Rodriguez and Amanda Pizarro personally guaranteed repayment of the loan. City National Bank is seeking full repayment along with interest and attorneys’ fees.
“Our client is at their wits end with this, knowing this is an entity that has several locations, not only in Texas, but here in Florida and in other states,” Vega said.
The Salty Donut did not respond to requests for comment before publication.
Founded by Pizarro and Rodriguez in 2014 as a mobile operation out of a vintage camper, The Salty Donut opened its first permanent store two years later in Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood. According to its website, the company now operates 21 stores across cities including Atlanta, Austin, Charlotte, Dallas, Denver, Miami, Nashville, Orlando, Tampa and West Palm Beach. New locations are planned for Atlanta, Charlotte and Washington D.C., but Houston is not listed among current or upcoming sites.
While there is no Salty Donut shop at the originally planned Montrose address or elsewhere within Houston proper according to public information from the company’s official list of locations, the chain did open an outlet last year at LaCenterra (23501 Cinco Ranch Boulevard) in Katy—a suburb about 30 miles west of downtown Houston.
