Restaurant closings in 2025: Starbucks and Wendy’s locations closing

With the restaurant industry going through another difficult year, many chains have chosen to close underperforming locations as they try to turn their businesses around.

Consumers weary of inflation have withdrawn their spending at restaurants, opting to eat at home or hunt for bargains when they go out for a meal. While some restaurants have succeeded in attracting frequent diners, the industry has largely suffered from declining sales. Traffic to restaurants open at least a year declined every month in 2025, with the exception of just July, according to Black Box Intelligence.

In past years, restaurant closures have been more concentrated in casual dining chains, resulting in customers being lost to fast-casual competitors such as Chipotle. But this year, chains across the industry have announced plans to close at least hundreds of locations.

In such a difficult environment, some restaurant companies have filed for bankruptcy protection. Hooters, Pinstripes and On the Border were among the notable names that reached bankruptcy court this year.

Here are the chains that have announced their closure in 2025:

In September, the coffee giant announced a $1 billion restructuring plan that included closing nearly 500 of its North American locations. The closures extended to the closure of the upscale Reserve Roastery café in Seattle, the company’s hometown.

Starbucks The announcement came after CEO Brian Nicol’s one-year anniversary at the helm of the company. Under his leadership, Starbucks is trying to reverse declining sales in the United States, its largest market.

Executives plan to share more details about the shift at the company’s upcoming investor day in late January in New York.

In november, Wendy It announced that it will undergo a strategic review of its restaurant footprint and begin closing underperforming locations this quarter. While the company did not announce a specific number of closures, interim CEO and CFO Ken Cook told analysts that the company could close a “mid-single-digit percentage” of its U.S. restaurant closures, which would mean hundreds of the burger chain’s locations.

The closures are one phase of Wendy’s “Project Fresh” turnaround plan. The company reported lower same-store sales even with competitors McDonald’s and Burger King Seeing high demand for Big Macs and Whoppers.

In 2024, Wendy’s will close about 140 locations.

In February, religious It said it plans to close between 70 and 90 restaurants in 2025. In recent months, the restaurant chain’s sales have declined as customers choose to visit cheap fast-food restaurants for breakfast. The shift in behavior led the company to close underperforming locations and try to improve the rest of its restaurants.

In November, the chain announced it had sold itself for $620 million to Yadav Enterprises, TriArtisan Capital Advisors and Treville Capital Group. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2026, pending regulatory approval.

In April, Jack in the box It said it would close between 150 and 200 restaurants as part of its “jack on track” strategy to improve its financial performance. By the end of fiscal 2025 on September 28, the chain had permanently closed 86 restaurants.

In May, parent company Bahama Breeze Darden Restaurants It closed 15 of the chain’s locations, representing nearly a third of its total volume.

After the closures, executives decided that the Caribbean-inspired series was not a strategic priority for Darden, so the company is exploring strategic alternatives for the brand. Options include selling the chain entirely or converting its restaurants to other Darden brands, such as Olive Garden. Darden expects to make a decision on Bahama Breeze by the end of fiscal year 2026, which ends in May.

Dozens of Hardee’s locations will close by the end of the year after the franchisee filed a lawsuit against ARC Burger, one of the largest franchisees. Hardee’s alleges that the operator defaulted on payments such as royalties, rent and taxes.

ARC, owned by private equity firm High Bluff Capital Partners, operated 77 Hardee’s restaurants before the legal battle began. Its footprint extended across eight states, including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Missouri, Montana, South Carolina and Wyoming, according to legal filings.

During the first three quarters of 2025 Papa John’s It closed 173 restaurants worldwide, according to company filings. Most of the closures affected international locations, although 62 of the pizza chain’s U.S. locations were also closed.

Despite the closures, Papa John’s still had nearly 6,000 restaurants in operation at the end of September.

At the end of October, Noodles & Co. It closed 29 company-owned restaurants this year, and executives said they planned to close another two to five underperforming locations by the end of 2025.

In 2024, the fast-casual chain closed 20 locations.

By the end of 2026, Noodles & Co. plans to close another 12 to 17 stores, as it aims to improve the company’s financial performance and boost sales in the chain’s nearby locations.

In October, a restaurant company Bloomin Brands It closed 21 locations across the company. The closures hit Outback Steakhouse, the jewel of its portfolio, as well as Bonefish Grill and Carrabba’s Italian Grill.

Bloomin’ has identified nearly two dozen more restaurants that won’t renew their leases when they expire over the next four years, executives said in November when sharing the company’s quarterly earnings. At the same time, the company announced a $75 million turnaround plan to improve Bloomin’ sales and overall financial health.