Burger King closing restaurants: Fast-food chain on its way to shut down 400 locations in 2023

Burger King is working on improving the overall health of its franchise system by culling “older and lower performing restaurants.” The fast-food chain’s CEO, Joshua Kobza, informed shareholders in May that between 300 and 400 locations would be closed before the end of 2023.

At that time, the company had already closed over 120 Burger King restaurants bringing the total in the United States to less than 7,000. Historically, the fast-food chain closes a couple hundred locations each year, but the latest numbers are similar to during the pandemic.

Financial difficulties of some regional franchise owners have also been behind swaths of closures in specific areas. This was the case with 26 Michigan Burger King restaurants suddenly shutting their doors for good in March.

Latest Burger King restaurant closings

Recently, six more locations serving char-broiled Whoppers have shuttered in Florida, Nebraska and New York. Some of these restaurants had been operating for over 40 years, like the one in Blue Point on Long Island, New York. That location was cherished by locals for its Hollywood kitsch and 1950s vibe. It even had a booth that looked like a ‘57 Chevy.

Jacksonville, Florida lost two nearly four-decade-old locations abruptly in October. The reason for the sudden closures was unknown. However, the three locations closing in Lincoln, Nebraska were due to the bankruptcy of their owner Meridian Restaurants Unlimited. Its remaining three locations in the city and another in Beatrice were sold to a Kansas-based company according to the Lincoln Journal Star.