A difficult year for the restaurant industry has led to many chains closing underperforming locations in 2024, as they try to improve their sales in the coming years.
Consumers weary of inflation have pulled back on spending on restaurants in 2024 and instead Required value and discounts When they chose to dine outside their homes. Total restaurant visits in the U.S. declined during the first 10 months of the year, according to data from Black Box Intelligence, which tracks the industry.
The decline in restaurant spending has led to weak sales and an increase in bankruptcies in the industry. Twenty-six restaurant companies Filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Protection in 2024, nearly triple the number of filings in 2020, during the height of the pandemic.
With few exceptions, casual dining chains in particular have struggled to attract customers, adding to the sector's challenges that have mounted since the Great Recession. Since the advent of fast-casual chains, many diners have chosen the convenience and quality promised to players like them Chipotle or Sweet green over the casual restaurant chains that dominated in previous decades.
Here are the restaurant chains that have announced their closure in 2024:
Wendy
The Wendy's logo appears on a sign outside the restaurant in Muncie.
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In late October, Wendy It announced it would close 140 underperforming locations by the end of the year, on top of the roughly 80 locations that closed in the first three quarters.
Executives made the decision to trim some older restaurants with annual unit volume of about $1 million each to improve the company's overall footprint.
Despite the closures, the company expects to end 2024 with an unchanged number of restaurants, thanks to the openings of its new restaurants, Wendy's CEO Kirk Tanner told investors on the company's third-quarter earnings conference call.
Applebee's
A sign is placed in front of an Applebee's restaurant on June 12, 2024 in Hayward, California.
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images
In May, Appleby's parents, Dining brandsIt said it plans to close between 25 and 35 of the brand's locations in the United States. By late September, Applebee's global unit count was down 36 locations compared to the same period last year.
Applebee's same-store sales have declined for the past six straight quarters, according to company filings.
Dine Brands, which also owns IHOP, has closed more stores than it has opened every year since 2016, with the exception of 2022.
religious
In an aerial view, customers enter a Denny's restaurant on February 13, 2023 in Emeryville, California.
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images
religious It closed about 50 locations in 2024 and plans to close an additional 100 restaurants by the end of 2025. Including this year's closures, the 24-hour restaurant chain still has nearly 1,300 locations open.
The restaurants slated for closure are in the bottom third of the chain's performance, with annual unit volumes ranging from $1.9 million to $2 million, executives said at the company's investor day in October. Once these restaurants close, Denny's expects its same-store sales and annual unit volumes to improve. Last quarter, same-store sales were roughly flat.
After 2025, Denny's plans to open 45 to 50 new locations per year.
TGI Fridays
The TGI Fridays logo appears on one of its branches.
John Lambarski | Rocket Lite | Getty Images
In November, TGI Fridays joined a slew of restaurant companies that filed for bankruptcy protection. But before filing for Chapter 11, it closed 86 restaurants, starting with 36 closing in January and another 50 in late October.
The latest round of closures has reduced the chain's footprint to approximately 160 locations open around the world. But the number may decrease further. The Texas Bankruptcy Court will determine the future of TGI Fridays, which could mean the chain's closure.
Red lobster
The exterior of a Red Lobster restaurant on May 20, 2024 in Austin, Texas. Red Lobster has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after a failed leaseback agreement and “endless shrimp” promotion backfired against the company's revenue.
Brandon Bell | Getty Images
Red Lobster will permanently close more than 120 restaurants in 2024.
The seafood chain closed nearly 100 locations before filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May. Before emerging from bankruptcy with a new owner and CEO, the company rejected leases for 23 other restaurants.
But with 2024 now in the rearview mirror, Red Lobster is hoping a comeback — with no more restaurants closing — is in the future.
Noodles & Co.
Michael Sellock | UCG | Global Photo Collection | Getty Images
Fast casual series Noodles & Co. It announced in August that it would close nearly 20 locations after reviewing the entire range of its 475 restaurants.
The review was part of the company's efforts to improve its operations and finances after a difficult few years. Noodles & Co. also It is also overhauling its menu, cutting items that don't sell and adding new entrees that may attract more customers.
But the transformation will take time. In the most recent quarter, the company said same-store sales fell 3.3%.
Blooming
Customers arrive at Outback Steakhouse on November 02, 2021 in Skokie, Illinois.
Scott Olson | Getty Images
Bloomin Brandsthe parent company of Outback Steakhouse, Carrabba's Italian Grill and Bonefish Grill, closed 41 underperforming restaurants in 2024.
The closures affected older locations with leases dating back to the 1990s and early 2000s, executives said on a company earnings conference call in February. To make the decision, the company evaluated the sites' sales and traffic, as well as the cost of investments to improve the sites. Most of the closures were remote locations.
Like many other casual dining companies, Bloomin' has struggled to grow its sales in recent quarters. U.S. same-store sales fell 1.5% in the third quarter.
