When one of my favorite restaurants closes a store, the first thing I want to know is “Are they all closing?”
Like when you feel a single rain drop, you wonder immediately where your umbrella is!
Here are seven beloved restaurants that have been closing locations recently, along with a “Fan Worry Score” on a 1 to 10 scale.
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Fan Worry Score: 7 out of 10
What’s Going On: Red Lobster filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2024 and ended up closing over 100 locations. Its down to 500-some locations from a peak of over 700 just a few years ago.
Having to shutter that many stores is certainly scary for fans.
That said, it was sold out of bankruptcy to private investors, so it lives on for now!
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Fan Worry Score: 5 out of 10
What’s Going On: Denny’s closed roughly 50 stores in 2024 and plans to close double that in 2025 before planning to return to growth. That total of 150 is on the order of magnitude of 10% of total locations, which is in line with management’s explanation that it’s closing down lower-performing locations.
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Fan Worry Score: 3 out of 10
What’s Going On: It’s true that Wendy’s closed over 200 stores in 2024, but it also opened a similar number. We can probably chalk this up to poor location choices in the past vs. worrying too much about needing a new Frosty provider!
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Fan Worry Score: 8 out of 10
What’s Going On: Dickey’s may still be the largest barbecue chain in America, but it closed 97 stores in its fiscal year ended May 31, 2024 and then more than 30 locations (that we know of) have closed their doors since.
They’ve opened a few stores as well, but while their website says it has “over 500 locations in 44 states,” we currently count less than 400.
Since Dickey’s is a private, family-owned franchise, more details are hard to come by (hence the higher worry score).
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Fan Worry Score: 8 out of 10
What’s Going On: TGI Friday’s closed about 50 restaurant locations last year and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S. (which affects its 39 owned locations vs. its franchise locations).
Bottom line, we see 137 TGI Fridays locations left in the U.S. based on its website.
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Fan Worry Score: 5 out of 10
What’s Going On: Applebee’s has been in a years-long malaise in terms of store closings (about 300 since 2017) and weakening sales. That said, it’s still got around 1,500 locations.
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Fan Worry Score: 2 out of 10
What’s Going On: This is the least concerning of any of the closures we’ve listed here. Cracker Barrel simply closed four underperforming stores last year (two in California, one in South Carolina, and one in Oregon), leaving it with over 650 locations.
The only truly sad thing here is that there are now no more Cracker Barrels left in Oregon.
Follow The Coconut Mama
• For fun lists, healthy living tips, and bar conversation topics, make sure to follow The Coconut Mama. Click here to access The Coconut Mama’s profile page and be sure to hit the Follow button here or at the top of this article!
• Have feedback? Add a comment below!
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