At the moment, the trend of closure of large restaurant chains in the United States is being seen.
The main reason is not their hobby or personal compulsion but some significant problems, including poor performance, financial pressure from people, strategic change, and consumer dissatisfaction due to inflation.
The low side of hotels has been declared. Along with this, overall cost reduction targets are also being cited as the reason. Major hotel chains currently closing due to underperformance include TGI Fridays, MOD Pizza, Outback Steakhouse, and Applebee’s.
These large hotel chains are currently underperforming customer expectations, which is causing a significant reduction in their target profits.
It is evident that when the rush of diners decreases at these big hotels, the monthly and annual expenses of these hotel owners will not be met, and they will not be able to bear this heavy loss. Therefore, these hotel owners are looking for the best option, which is to close their hotel.
Boston Market, Red Lobster and Tijuana Flats have also given clear indications of facing similar financial crises. Among the major problems of these hotels, the most exposed is the severe financial condition due to which they are unable to pay their monthly and annual bills, as well as disputes with the landlords of some hotels. Some have given clear indications of bankruptcy due to owner conditions and have even closed some of their branches due to the filings. However, the most common factors behind their closure are cost-cutting and money problems. Referring to his significant issues, Dennyhas said that according to the February earnings record, he is facing significant issues related to manpower, in which the output is high, and the income is meager. I have had to close my branches at about 57 different locations in 2023. And 15 to 20 more branches may have to be closed in 2024 due to the worsening situation in the coming days. So, the reason for their closure from these big hotels is the financial pressure and the non-availability of their favorite food menus according to the customers’ preferences in some branches. These hotel chains have also decided to close down branches where there was not much customer traffic to reduce their costs, which has given them the advantage of reorganizing large branches to cover their financial losses and improve their economic condition. It would be a great way to improve.
List Of Fast-Casual Restaurants Shuttering Eateries
1. Cracker Barrel
Due to financial pressures and a few other reasons, Cracker Barrel is closing four of its branches this year, including two in California, one in Oregon, and another in South Carolina. Cracker Barrel said to the food outlet Eat This, Not That, “Reviewing store performance is one of our most important missions and business priorities, whether we are meeting the needs of our guests or businesses. He also expressed his thoughts in a disturbing tone, saying that the decision to close any store is tough for us, and we do not take it so quickly, but after much thought, we made this difficult decision, and our attention was drawn to it. The focus is on helping the employee or their worker during the transition. The Cracker Barrel Hotel chain has noticed things for over a year that have led to the decision to close some of its branches, which the company said were understaffed. Some of the reasons behind the decline have also been targeted, with weak marketing, differences in guest demand, and food costs being among the main reasons.
2. Applebee’s
Applebee’s parent company, Dine Brands Global, also announced plans to close 33 restaurants in its fourth-quarter earnings call through 2023 but plans to close 25 to 35 more locations in the United States this year.
The closures don’t nominate struggling franchises but indicate struggling business areas, said Applebee’s president Tony Moralejo. According to him, he is trying that we should not close these branches in any way, but they should remain open for customers, but we have been facing continuous losses.
3. TGI Fridays
Like other brands, TGI Fridays announced in January that it would close 36 restaurants in some of its largest markets across the U.S. that were financially underperforming. Whose financial performance is constantly declining.
The restaurant chain has also offered more than 1,000 redundancies, representing more than 80 % of the total affected employees. As per TGI’s promises, our top priority is still to provide good service as a professional, keeping in mind all aspects of courtesy to our guests is one of the options. In a statement, we will close some of our franchises with low financial performance. We will present the benefit in the form of strengthening our large franchise model, and we will share our vision for the future on Friday. Considering an unprecedented Idea to promote.
4. Denny’s
Like other significant restaurants, Denny’s owners have announced plans to close 15 to 20 larger units in 2024 after closing about 57 last year. Further, CFO Robert Verostek indicated in his Q4 earnings call in February that we are working on some additional closures due to inflationary pressures. According to Verostek, the cost has increased due to inflation while the price of our food menu is still premium, and it is due to the trust of our esteemed customers, which is why we are facing financial pressure. For this reason, we have decided to close some restaurants. According to the CFO, the CFO said it must now generate $1.2 million, up from $1 million due to inflation.
5. Boston Market
During the recent crisis, Boston Market started with 300 locations last year and is now down to 27, according to Restaurant Business, citing lawsuits and unpaid bills. If we look at a landmark ruling in March, a federal judge highlighted some technical issues in Boston Market owner Jay Pandya’s filing and dismissed his bankruptcy bid because of those issues. The court ordered another six months of ban.
Red Lobster
While other major restaurant chains are currently struggling, Red Lobster also filed an application for bankruptcy in May, revealing more than $1 billion in bad debt. He further revealed that his cash reserves have dwindled to just $30 million at the moment.CNN reported that Red Lobster stopped paying vendors last year due to dwindling financial resources, and the chain closed 93 locations before filing for bankruptcy.
MOD Pizza
MOD Pizza also announced the closure of 26 restaurants during the first quarter due to financial woes.
It is not that this chain has not tried to improve its position, but the squads and managers of these restaurants have tried their best, but still, they have not been able to perform as well as expected for some time. This is happening because the engagements are high, and it is also part of the business.
However, don’t blame the minimum wage law introduced by the state, according to Van Warner. According to him, five branches in California have faced closure. Employees who have been retrenched from here have been offered the opportunity to transfer to other operational units of the company.
Apart from this, another offer has been made to these employees: for those employees who are unable to be transferred or do not accept the transfer policy, a severance package has been offered in the meantime.
PDQ
Fast food chicken brand PDQ has closed eight of its locations in South Carolina and North Carolina.
According to the managers of PDQ North Carolina, this decision to close was a very difficult decision for them. Still, this difficult decision had to be made after careful consideration and assessment of the current market conditions and circumstances. After the closure of these chains, the affected employees have been offered assistance in finding new jobs. The owners of PDQ have consoled their departed employees, saying that these members have been an important part of our team and we have been like a family. Still, we are committed to providing them with all possible support during this time.
Outback Steakhouse
Bloomin’ Brands has closed 41 restaurants that were not performing well. Restaurants across its brands include Carrabba’s Italian Grill, Bonefish Grill, Fleming’s, and Outback Steakhouse.
A number of reasons have been given for the closure of the food chain, including poor sales, fewer customers turning to hotels, and financial investment, which was proving too costly to improve the store.
Bloomin’ CEO David Deno revealed that the majority of these periods consisted of older assets with leases dating back to the 90s and early 2000s.
Hardee’s
Due to some unavoidable reasons, Hardee’s also closed 39 stores in 2023, reducing its footprint in a majority of eight states across the country. In addition, closures of this food chain occur in Illinois, Tennessee, and Missouri, according to Taste of Country.
Tijuana Flats
In April, Tijuana Flats stated that he had closed 11 locations this week due to bankruptcy. Including ten restaurants in Florida and one in Virginia; according to the company, the decision to close these restaurants was tough, but we faced poor financial performance, cost of occupancy, and deteriorating market conditions.
A new ownership group, Flatheads LLC, recently acquired Tijuana Flats.
What Happens To The Workers?
Whenever a company closes or a Restaurant closes, it puts the worker in a precarious position financially, as employees immediately lose their day jobs. In this, various allowances, including health insurance, are lost.
This situation can create huge financial difficulties for these workers, especially if severance pay is not available.An even more dire situation is faced by some workers when those workers or their family members receive medical leave or accommodations under laws such as the Family and Medical Leave Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act after a crisis closure may be required. However, if companies provide proper notice, they are required to extend benefits to employees for some time and may offer severance packages to laid-off workers.Ethical laws and some major laws require employers to make timely contact with outage plans during this difficult time and offer their workers the support that is available. What restaurant chain has the most locations in the US? With its extensive branches and worldwide presence, Subway currently owns the most significant number of branches in 51 states and territories, with 20,629 locations.
Starbucks follows it with 16,621 locations, and McDonald’s with 13,529 locations.
How many fast-food restaurants are closing in California?
1,040 New Closures Since April 1st, 2024
How many chain restaurants are there in the US?
If we talk about 2023, there were 749,404 restaurants in the USA. Seven out of 10 restaurants in the US are single-unit operations, while nine out of 10 are small businesses and employ fewer than 50 workers.
Why is Applebee’s closing 35 locations?
The original closure of the brand was due to a change in trading territories and the expiry of the franchise agreement.
Which restaurant chain opened its first location in New York City in 1965?
In 1965, Alan Stillman opened the first TGI Fridays restaurant in Manhattan at 63rd Street between First and York Avenues.