Wendy’s to Close About 300 Restaurants Nationwide in Late 2025
Wendy’s, the Ohio-based fast-food chain with approximately 6,000 restaurants across the United States, announced plans to close several hundred locations by the end of 2025. The move comes roughly a year after the company shut down 140 stores nationwide.
CEO Confirms Store Reduction Plans
Interim CEO Ken Cook told investors during a quarterly earnings call on Friday, November 7, that the company would close a “mid single-digit percentage” of its total outlets. Based on the current number of stores, this would equal roughly 240 to 360 closures. One investor during the call estimated the total closer to 300 restaurants.
“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,” said Cook. “The goal is to address and fix those restaurants.”
Cook added that some locations could be improved with technology upgrades or operational changes, while others would be permanently closed. The closure process is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2025. The company has not yet published a list of affected sites.
Openings and Closures Balance
According to Wendy’s spokesperson Heidi Schauer, around 250 to 300 new stores opened in 2024. However, following a strategic review, the company now anticipates an equal number of closures and new openings, resulting in 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.
Michigan Locations Remain Unidentified
As of now, Wendy’s has 218 restaurants in Michigan, according to the company’s website. It remains unclear whether any of these locations are on the closure list.
Author’s Summary
The Ohio-based Wendy’s chain plans to shut down roughly 300 underperforming restaurants nationwide by late 2025, balancing the closures with new openings to maintain overall stability.