2025 restaurant closures: Starbucks, Wendy’s shutter locations

As the restaurant industry endured another difficult year, many chains opted to close underperforming locations as they try to turn around their businesses.

Inflation-weary consumers have pulled back their restaurant spending, choosing to eat at home or chasing deals when they go out for a meal. While some restaurants have won over reluctant diners, the industry has largely struggled with the sales slump. Traffic to restaurants open at least a year fell every month in 2025, excluding only July, according to Black Box Intelligence.

In years past, restaurant closures have been more concentrated across casual-dining chains, which lost customers to fast-casual competitors like Chipotle. But this year, chains across the industry announced plans to shutter at least hundreds of locations.

In such a tough environment, some restaurant companies even filed for bankruptcy protection. Hooters, Pinstripes and On the Border were some of the notable names that landed in bankruptcy court this year.

Here are the chains that announced closures in 2025:

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

Starbucks’ announcement followed CEO Brian Niccol’s one-year anniversary at the helm of the company. Under his leadership, Starbucks is trying to reverse a sales slump in the U.S., its biggest market.

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

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

The closures are one phase of Wendy’s “Project Fresh” turnaround plan. The company has reported same-store sales declines even as rivals McDonald’s and Burger King see higher demand for their Big Macs and Whoppers.

In 2024, Wendy’s shuttered about 140 locations.

In February, Denny’s said it planned to close between 70 and 90 restaurants in 2025. In recent months, the diner chain’s sales sunk as customers opted to visit cheaper fast-food restaurants for breakfast. The shift in behavior led the company to shutter underperforming locations and attempt to improve the rest of its restaurant footprint.

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

In April, Jack in the Box 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 its fiscal 2025 on Sept. 28, the chain had permanently shuttered 86 restaurants.

In May, Bahama Breeze parent company Darden Restaurants closed 15 of the chain’s locations, which represents roughly a third of its overall footprint.

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

Dozens of Hardee’s locations will close by end of the year after the franchisor sued ARC Burger, one of its largest franchisees. Hardee’s alleges that the operator fell behind on payments like royalties, rent and taxes.

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

In the first three quarters of 2025, Papa John’s shuttered 173 restaurants worldwide, according to company filings. Most of the closures affected international locations, although 62 of the pizza chain’s U.S. locations 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. had closed 29 company-owned restaurants this year, and executives said that they planned to shutter 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. is planning to close another 12 to 17 stores, as it aims to improve the company’s financial performance and boost sales at the chain’s nearby locations.

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

Bloomin’ has identified nearly two dozen other restaurants that will not 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 its overall financial health.