Copyright TODAY
A Wendy’s near you may be closing in the coming months. During its latest earnings call, the fast-food chain announced plans to shut down hundreds of restaurants in the U.S. What’s motivating the closures and what can customers expect? Here’s everything we know so far. Restaurant Closures Are an Attempt to ‘Boost Sales and Profitability’ During the Nov. 7 earnings call, Wendy’s interim chief executive officer and chief financial officer Ken Cook announced “closures of underperforming units” in an effort to “boost sales and profitability at nearby locations.” Cook noted that the closures are part of an effort focused on “revitalizing our brand and elevating the customer experience” along with driving “sustainable growth.” “We’re focused on improving restaurant-level economics, taking a hard look at underperforming restaurants in our system from both the financial and customer experience perspective, and working with franchisees to improve those, transfer those to another operator, or potentially closing them, which will help unlock capital for franchisees to further reinvest in the system,” Cook explained during the call. Cook said the goal is “strengthening the system for the long term” and noted that franchisees who close a restaurant will have the ability to “invest in their remaining restaurants” with “equipment upgrades, technology, digital menu boards” and “building new restaurants.” Closures Will Begin This Fall and Continue Through 2026 As part of the process, Cook said the company is working with franchisees to “ensure a thorough review process” over the next few months. As a result, “some closures expected to begin later this year and continue into 2026.” Wendy's Has Not Announced Which Restaurants Will Close A Wendy’s spokesperson declined to comment to TODAY.com about which restaurants and how many locations in total will be closed in the coming months since the review is currently underway. However, Cook estimated “around a mid-single-digit percentage of U.S. restaurants” will close. Wendy’s currently has approximately 6,000 restaurants in the U.S. Operating on Cook’s estimate, 300 restaurants would close if 5% of locations were affected by the closures. During the call, Cook noted that international expansion is also a “top priority.” Wendy’s Also Closed Restaurants in 2024 In November 2024, Wendy’s announced it would be closing 140 restaurants in an effort to “further improve our restaurant footprint and overall system health,” according to the company’s then-CEO Kirk Tanner. Tanner noted that restaurants that were “outdated and located in underperforming trade areas” were on the chopping block. At the same time, the CEO said the company intended to open new stores in other areas. “We have designed this initiative to ensure that over time, many of these units will be replaced by new restaurants at better locations with significantly improved sales and profitability,” he said at the time.
