Inflation-weary consumers pulled back their restaurant spending in 2024 and instead Search for prices and discounts When they chose to eat outside their homes. Overall U.S. restaurant visits fell in the first 10 months of the year, according to data from industry tracker Black Box Intelligence.
Reduced restaurant spending led to weak sales and industry bankruptcies. Twenty-six restaurant companies Filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Protection in 2024, during the peak of the pandemic, nearly triples the number of filings in 2020.
With few exceptions, comfort food chains in particular have struggled to attract customers, adding to the segment’s challenges that have grown since the Great Recession. Since the rise of fast-casual chains, many diners have opted for the convenience and quality promise of athletes such as Chipotle or sweet green on the casual dining chains that dominated in previous decades.
Here are the restaurant chains that announced they will close in 2024:
Wendy
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At the end of October, Wendy announced that it would close 140 underperforming locations by the end of the year, in addition to nearly 80 closures in the first three quarters.
Executives decided to prune some aging restaurants with annual unit sales of about $1 million to improve the company’s overall footprint.
Despite the closings, the company expects to end 2024 with an unchanged restaurant count, thanks to its new restaurant openings, Wendy’s CEO Kirk Tanner said on the company’s third-quarter earnings conference call. Told the cars.
Applebee’s
A sign is placed in front of an Apple B’s restaurant on June 12, 2024 in Hayward, California.
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images
In May, Applebee’s parents, Dine Brandssaid it planned to shutter between 25 and 35 of the brand’s U.S. locations. By the end of September, Applebee’s global unit count had fallen 36 places from the year-ago period.
Applebee’s same-store sales have declined for the past six consecutive quarters, according to company filings.
Dine Brands, which also owns IHOP, has closed more stores than it opened every year since 2016, except for 2022.
Danny’s
In an aerial view, customers enter a Denny’s restaurant in Emeryville, California on February 13, 2023.
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images
Danny’s It closed about 50 locations in 2024 and plans to close another 100 restaurants by the end of 2025. Including this year’s closings, the 24-hour diner chain still has about 1,300 locations open.
The restaurants marked for closure are in the bottom third of the chain’s performers, with annual unit volume of $1.9 million to $2 million, executives said at the company’s investor day in October. Once those restaurants close, Denny’s expects both its same-store sales and annual unit volume to improve. In its most recent quarter, the chain’s same-store sales were nearly flat.
After 2025, Denny’s plans to open 45 to 50 net new locations annually.
TGI Fridays
A TGI Fridays logo is visible on one of their branches.
John Lempersky | Light Rocket | Getty Images
In November, TGI Fridays joined a number of restaurant companies that filed for bankruptcy protection. But before it filed for Chapter 11, it closed 86 restaurants, starting with 36 in January and another 50 in late October.
The latest round of closures brought China’s footprint to nearly 160 open locations worldwide. But the count could be further reduced. A bankruptcy court in Texas will determine the future of TGI Fridays, which could mean closing the chain.
Red Lobster
The exterior of a Red Lobster restaurant on May 20, 2024 in Austin, Texas. Red Lobster has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after a failed leaseback deal and an “endless shrimp” boost against the company’s earnings.
Brandon Bell | Getty Images
Red Lobster plans to permanently close more than 120 restaurants in 2024.
The seafood chain closed about 100 locations before filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May. Before it emerged from bankruptcy with a new owner and CEO, the company rejected leases for another 23 restaurants.
But with 2024 now in the rearview mirror, Red Lobster is hoping a comeback — with no more restaurant closings — is in its future.
Noodles & Co
Michael Silk | UCG | Universal Images Group | Getty Images
Fast casual streak Noodles & Co announced in August that it would close about 20 locations after reviewing its 475 restaurant footprint.
The review was part of the company’s efforts to improve its operations and finances after a few years. Noodles & Co. is also changing its menu, cutting items that don’t sell and adding new entrees that might appeal to more customers.
But change will take time. In its most recent quarter, the company said same-store sales fell 3.3 percent.
opening up
Customers arrive at an Outback Steakhouse restaurant in Skokie, Illinois on November 02, 2021.
Scott Olson | Getty Images
Blumen Brandsthe parent company of Outback Steakhouse, Carraba’s Italian Grill and Bonefish Grill, will close 41 underperforming restaurants in 2024.
Executives said on the company’s earnings conference call in February that the closings affected older locations with leases dating back to the 1990s and early 2000s. To make the decision, the company weighed the locations’ sales and traffic, as well as the cost of investing in improving the locations. Most of the closures were outback locations.
Like many other comfort food companies, Bloom’s has struggled to grow sales in recent quarters. Its US same-store sales fell 1.5% in the third quarter.