VICORP Restaurants Inc., which operates Village Inn and Bakers Square restaurants, announced Thursday it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and will close 56 restaurants.

A chapter 11 filing allows the company to continue operating while negotiating with creditors to restructure its debt.

The company did not say in which cities it planned to close restaurants, but it appears the five Lincoln Village Inns will remain open.

A manager at one, who did not want to be quoted by name, said that to his knowledge, none of the Lincoln locations was slated for closing. All five locations also were remained listed on Village Inn’s Web site Thursday.

A public relations person hired by VICORP said she was not aware of any closings in Nebraska.

The Sioux City Journal reported Thursday that the two Village Inns in that city had closed.

Media reports also indicated that Bakers Square restaurants had closed in Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin.

In a statement, VICORP said the stores being closed were “underperforming “ and that the closures are part of a long-term business strategy.”

Chief Executive Officer Ken Keymer also left open the possibility that more stores may be closed.

“We also intend to take action to further enhance efficiency and profitability across the organization,” he said in the release. “This will include performing a thorough review of all underperforming locations over the next several months to determine if they can meet our long-term objectives.”

In the meantime, Keymer said that“normal business operations” will continue at the 343 company restaurants that remain open.