Wendy's to Close Approximately 300 Stores Nationwide in Late 2025
Wendy's, the Ohio-based fast-food chain with about 6,000 locations across the United States, plans to close hundreds of stores just one year after shutting 140 locations. Interim CEO Ken Cook announced during the November 7 quarterly earnings call that the company would reduce its footprint by a “mid single-digit percentage.” This equates to roughly 240 to 360 closures, with one investor estimating about 300 stores.
Reasons Behind the Closures
"When we look at the system today, we have some restaurants that do not elevate the brand and are a drag from a franchisee financial performance perspective," Ken Cook said. "The goal is to address and fix those restaurants."
To improve performance, Wendy’s will either invest in technology and equipment upgrades, transfer struggling locations to new operators, or in some cases, close them entirely.
Impact on Store Growth and Michigan Locations
In 2024, about 250 to 300 new Wendy’s stores were expected to open, according to spokesperson Heidi Schauer. However, following a strategic review, the company now anticipates closures to match new openings, resulting in roughly flat net growth for the year.
"After our strategic review, we now expect a similar number of closures as openings, so we expect net unit growth in 2024 to be roughly flat," Schauer stated.
The closures are set to begin in the fourth quarter of 2025. Currently, Wendy’s operates 218 locations in Michigan, although no specific list of Michigan closures has been released.
Summary
Wendy's plans a significant nationwide reduction of around 300 locations in late 2025, balancing closures with new openings to maintain stable overall store count.
Would you like the summary to be more formal or conversational?