In this articleWENDINDENNNDLSFollow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNTA rough year for the restaurant industry led many chains to close underperforming locations in 2024, as they try to improve their sales in the years to come.Inflation-weary consumers pulled back their restaurant spending in 2024 and instead sought value and discounts when they did choose to dine outside their homes. Overall U.S. restaurant visits fell for the first 10 months of the year, according to data from industry tracker Black Box Intelligence.The decline in restaurant spending led to weak sales and a surge in bankruptcies for the industry. Twenty-six restaurant companies filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2024, nearly triple the number of filings in 2020, during the height of the pandemic.With few exceptions, casual-dining chains in particular struggled to attract customers, adding to the segment’s challenges that have mounted since the Great Recession. Since the rise of fast-casual chains, many diners have opted for the convenience and promised quality of players like Chipotle or Sweetgreen over the casual-dining chains that dominated in the prior decades.Here are the restaurant chains that announced closures in 2024:Wendy’sThe Wendy’s logo is seen on a sign outside the restaurant in Muncy. Paul Weaver | Lightrocket | Getty ImagesIn late October, Wendy’s announced it would shutter 140 underperforming locations by the end of the year, in addition to the roughly 80 closures it had in the first three quarters.Executives made the decision to prune some outdated restaurants that had annual unit volumes of about $1 million each to improve the company’s overall footprint.Despite the closures, the company expects to end 2024 with an unchanged restaurant count, thanks to its new restaurant openings, Wendy’s CEO Kirk Tanner told investors on the company’s third-quarter earnings conference call.Applebee’sA sign is posted in front of an Applebee’s restaurant on June 12, 2024 in Hayward, California. Justin Sullivan | Getty ImagesIn May, Applebee’s parent, Dine Brands, said it planned to shutter between 25 and 35 of the brand’s U.S. locations. By late September, Applebee’s global unit count had fallen by 36 locations compared with the year-ago period.Applebee’s same-store sales have declined for the last six straight quarters, according to company filings.Dine Brands, which also owns IHOP, has closed more stores than it has opened every year since 2016, with the exception of 2022.Denny’sIn an aerial view, customers enter a Denny’s restaurant on February 13, 2023 in Emeryville, California. Justin Sullivan | Getty ImagesDenny’s closed about 50 locations in 2024 and plans to shutter an additional 100 restaurants by the end of 2025. Including this year’s closures, the 24-hour diner chain still has roughly 1,300 open locations.The restaurants marked for closure are in the lower third of the chain’s performers, with annual unit volumes of $1.9 million to $2 million, executives said at the company’s investor day in October. Once those restaurants shutter, Denny’s expects that both its same-store sales and annual unit volumes will improve. In its latest quarter, the chain’s same-store sales were roughly flat.After 2025, Denny’s plans to open between 45 and 50 net new locations annually.TGI FridaysTGI Fridays logo is seen on one of their branches.John Lamparski | Lightrocket | Getty ImagesIn November, TGI Fridays joined the slew of restaurant companies that filed for bankruptcy protection. But before it filed for Chapter 11, it shuttered 86 restaurants, starting with 36 closures in January and another 50 in late October.The last round of closures took the chain’s footprint down to roughly 160 open locations worldwide. But the count could dwindle more. A bankruptcy court in Texas will determine TGI Fridays’ future, which could mean closures for the chain.Red LobsterThe exterior of a Red Lobster restaurant on May 20, 2024 in Austin, Texas. Red Lobster has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection …
