What restaurant chains have been forced to close locations in 2023?

There have been a number of restaurant chains that have announced closures for this year as companies restructure in a changing business environment. The reasons vary from simple pruning of unproductive locations to financial difficulties encountered by franchise owners.

The covid-19 pandemic caused disruption across all aspects of life and the fallout from that are still being felt almost four years since its onset. One of the most lasting has been the added cost for food due to supply chain issues and labor as companies compete to attract workers.

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Restaurant chains closing locations in 2023

Here’s a look at some of the major restaurant chains making significant reductions in the number of locations that customers can visit across the United States.

Applebee’s

The neighborhood bar & grill had close to 1,600 locations in the United States at the end of 2022 after closing around 300 since 2017. This year was supposed to be the turnaround year to start growing again into the future.

However, pressure on margins and rising building costs for new locations has dashed those plans, at least for now. The franchise will accelerate restaurant closures this year to between 10 and 20 according to parent company Dine Brands.

Boston Market

The fast-casual chain that ignited the rotisserie chicken craze has been dying a slow death since its peak in the late-1990s. Plans to breathe new life into the company started in 2020 are basically kaput with Boston Market’s Denver headquarter seized by local authorities and lawsuits piling up for unpaid bills and wages.

Around couple dozen locations have shuttered permanently this year across the country. In September, 27 Boston Market restaurants were forced to temporarily close by the New Jersey Department of Labor. After the company paid over $600,000 in back wages to 314 employees those locations were allowed to open again.

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Burger King

While the ‘King’ of burgers typically closes a couple hundred stores in a given year, the fast-food giant said that it expected to close up to twice as many this year. Some of the larger swaths of closures have been the result of financial difficulties of the franchise owners, others that have been open for over four decades shuttered suddenly for no known reasons.

Hardee’s

A major franchise owner of Hardee’s restaurants, Summit Restaurant Holdings, declared bankruptcy this past spring after closing 39 stores in several states. Earlier this month four locations were abruptly closed in South Dakota blindsiding customers and employees alike.

Steak ‘n Shake

Since avoiding bankruptcy protection in 2021, Steak ‘n Shake has been undergoing a transformation of its locations from a full-service model with drive-thru to a counter-service fast-food model. Although sales improved recently, the company and franchise owners have continued to cull stores, with another 24 in total closed so far this year.

Please note this article previously stated that Steak ‘n Shake had filed for bankruptcy protection. We are happy to correct the error.