CHOPPING BLOCK
Denny’s, Red Robin and TGI Fridays among restaurants that closed locations in shock moves dominating shutdown in 2025
A variety of factors are behind the mass closure plans
SEVERAL restaurant giants, including Denny's, Red Robin, and TGI Fridays have mass shutdowns slated for 2025.
As the restaurant industry struggles amidst high inflation and shifting consumer behavior, these restaurant chains and others have many locations on the chopping block.
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Popular restaurant chains are shutting down locations left and right due to a variety of factors.
Pressure stemming from labor shortages, changing consumer behavior, and increased competition from delivery services and ghost kitchens, inflation, and rising costs all play a role.
"On one hand, it's more expensive to operate restaurants due to higher wages and food costs," retail expert Mitchell Olsen previously told The U.S. Sun.
"On the other hand, it's becoming increasingly difficult to pass those higher operating expenses on to diners with ever-increasing menu prices," he explained.
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"Consumers are starting to push back against the high cost of dining out by thinking twice about that appetizer or going to a restaurant in the first place."
Restaurant chains have struggled to stay afloat as diners pull back on their spending, with roughly one third of Americans claiming to have cut back on fast food, sit-downs, and delivery last year, per the Ipsos Consumer Tracker.
As restaurants' profits drop, revenue losses have pushed many to conduct mass closures.
Last year, a number of popular restaurant chains shuttered locations:
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- Rubio's
- Wendy's
- Outback Steakhouse
- Applebee's
- Hooters
- Boston Market
- MOD Pizza
In 2025, a number of staple American chains have seen a notable drop in their restaurant count.
Restaurant chain with 475 outlets set to close dozens of locations across the US – as CEO issues ominous warning
DENNY'S
Last fall, breakfast giant Denny's shared its plans to shutter 150 underperforming restaurant locations by the end of 2025.
Approximately 50 were slated to close in 2024, with the remaining 100 in 2025.
Denny's closed 88 restaurants in 2024, exceeding its initial projection for the year.
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The company adjusted its 2025 closure target to between 70 and 90 restaurants, bringing the total number of Denny's restaurants either closing or already shut down up to rough 180 since last year.
Denny's cited the need to streamline its operations and focus on improving the financial performance of its remaining locations.
"Accelerating the closure of lower-volume restaurants will improve franchisee cash flow and allow them to reinvest into traffic-driving initiatives like our tested and proven remodel program," said Denny's CFO, Robert Verostek.
"In any mature brand, when restaurants have been open that long, it is natural that trade areas can shift over time."
Restaurant closures in 2024
BOSSES at major dining chains have announced a series of restaurant closures. The U.S. Sun has compiled a list of the chain's affected.
- Cracker Barrel: Stores in Medford, Oregon, Columbia, South Carolina, and Sacramento, California, have closed.
- Mod Pizza: Bosses dramatically shuttered 27 shops in April, including some in the state of California.
- Frisch's Big Boy: Restaurant chiefs confirmed the closure of a restaurant in Covington, Kentucky in April.
- Outback Steakhouse: The chain will shutter 41 'underperforming' locations this year.
- Two Bucks: Four restaurants in Ohio closed in April.
- Chili's: A restaurant in Port Arthur, Texas, has shut permanently as well as one in Irvine, California, and one in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.
- Friendly's: Bosses confirmed an establishment in Ronkonkoma, Long Island will close.
- Pizza Hut: A restaurant in Glen Falls, New York, closed at the end of March, followed by four in Ohio in June and 15 in Indiana. This was followed in July by a bankruptcy filing from its parent company which announced the closure of 150 locations.
- Carl's Jr.: The first Boise, Idaho location has closed.
- In-N-Out: An Oakland location closed earlier in the year due to crime in the area.
- Cheesecake Factory: The chain is set to shutter a location in Memphis, Tennessee in July.
- Applebee's: Announced the closure of between 25 and 35 locations this year.
- Red Lobster: The seafood chain filed for bankruptcy in May and shuttered over 100 locations.
- Taco John's: Shuttered a restaurant in Minnesota and put the building up for sale in May.
- Frisco's Chicken: The poultry restaurant shuttered all of its locations over the summer
- Rubio's Coastal Grill: Has announced the closure of 48 locations in California after filing for bankruptcy.
- Burger King: Shuttered a location in California in June after 30 years.
- Foster's Freeze: Shuttered a location in California after five decades in business due to financial struggles.
- Chicken Salad Chick: After nine years the restaurant shuttered one location in Jacksonville, Florida, with no reason given.
- México Lindo: The New York City-based restaurant announced its final day after 52 years and finally shuttered its doors for good on July 31.
- American Dream Pizza: Closed all of its locations in Oregon in July.
- Tender Greens: The Southern California-based chain filed for bankruptcy.
- Lefty's Famous Cheesesteaks, Hoagies, & Grill: Abruptly shuttered 18 locations in July due to a family feud.
- Firehouse Subs: Shuttered a location in the Tri-Cities area of Washington State over the summer citing "unforeseen circumstances"
- Taco Time: The Taco Bell rival shuttered a location in Seattle after 50 years following a death in the franchise owner's family.
- Burgerim: Shuttered a location in Burlington, Massachusetts in July, reigniting bankruptcy fears from 2020.
- Denny's: The chain has shuttered over 40 locations so far this year with the owner of the one outlet blaming vandalism.
- Starbucks: The chain shuttered one of its most iconic locations in New York City after almost three decades with fans blaming crime. It also lost a location in Seattle.
- Subway: In August, the sandwich chain shuttered over 20 locations across the US and Canada after a franchisee lost money after being a victim of fraud.
- IHOP: A restaurant in New Hampshire shut its doors after 24 years, leaving four locations in the state.
- Switchback Coffee Roasters: The popular chain filed for bankruptcy in August after over a decade in business.
- Jimmy John's: The sandwich shop chain shuttered a location in Nevada on August 19 after 12 years citing overexpansion issues.
- KFC: Closed the remaining three locations in Rockford, Illinois all on the same day on August 19. In total, it closed six locations across four cities in Illinois.
- Rusty Bucket: The chicken shop chain confirmed it would officially leave Florida as it announced a handful of closures including in Sarasota and Ohio.
- Buca di Beppo: The Olive Garden rival abruptly shuttered 44 locations across five states before filing for bankruptcy.
- Red Robin: Announced the closure of its Ashburn, Virginia location on August 25 after 15 years in business.
- Noodles & Company: Shuttered dozens of locations due to their contribution to around $2 million worth of losses.
- Shoney's: The classic American-style food chain founded in 1947 officially exited Ohio after three decades of business as it reduced its operational footprint.
- Homegrown: The sandwich chain based in Seattle announced the closure of 10 locations leaving 150 employees in the lurch.
- World of Beer: Filed for bankruptcy after closing 14 outlets.
- Arby's: The chain announced a number of closures this year including in Lexington, Kentucky, Akron, Ohio,
- Uno Pizzeria & Grill: Shuttered a location in New Jersey in July, leaving just two in the state, followed by the closure of a Baltimore location in August.
- Hart House: Shutterd all four locations in California in September just two years after the vegan fast-food restaurant chain was launched by actor and comedian Kevin Hart.
The slew of Denny's locations set to close down have been open for an average of 30 years each, with many no longer profitable to operate.
RED ROBIN
Red Robin has also struggled in the current restaurant landscape, with plans to shutter roughly 70 underperforming locations across the next five years.
The American burger chain expects to close around 10 to 15 restaurants this year as their leases expire, CEO G.J. Hart shared.
Although Red Robin has yet to release a closure schedule, three of the locations will likely close in the first quarter of 2025, per the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
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The popular chain, with around 500 US locations, has struggled due to heightened economic pressures and underwhelming financial performance across the past few months.
Red Robin reported a net loss of $77.5 million last year, a significant increase from the $21.2 million loss in 2023.
The company's hundreds of locations generated a restaurant-level operating loss of around $6 million last year.
TGI FRIDAYS
TGI Fridays filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November last year, closing over 100 restaurants across 2024.
The pandemic was the "primary driver of our financial challenges," TGI Fridays' executive chairman Rohit Manocha shared in the court filing.
The executive added that the restaurant chain sought to reorganize to "ensure the long-term viability" of TGI Fridays and emerge from bankruptcy headed in the right direction.
The popular chain has closed a handful of locations already in 2025.
TGI Fridays shuttered a restaurant in Riverhead, New York on the north shore of Long Island at the beginning of the year, with fans alerted by a sign on the door.
The location is one of the last of the chain's spots on Long Island.
TGI Fridays shuttered another restaurant in January in Hagerstown, Maryland - approximately 70 miles northwest of Washington DC.
The only four TGI Fridays restaurants within casinos in Las Vegas also closed that month.
The locations within The Orleans, Sam's Town, Aliante, and Gold Coast closed for good at the end of January.
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Other restaurant chains are struggling, including a beloved Mexican chain that confirmed it will close 70 locations just weeks after suffering a fatal blow.
Plus, the Applebees CEO has revealed plans to overhaul 30 restaurants in a bid to prevent further closures after shutting over 150.
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