Year Established: 1958
Estimated Branch Closures: 29 Branches
Perkins Restaurant and Bakery, simply known as Perkins, is a casual dining chain that mostly focuses on serving breakfast at all hours of the day. It was founded in 1958 by Matt and Ivan Perkins, and continues strong to this day. The chain has locations in thirty-two American States and four Canadian provinces.
The company has recently closed almost 30 branches as of mid 2019, after its parent company, Perkins & Marie Callender’s, had filed for bankruptcy. Since then, it had been known that Perkins was going to be acquired by Huddle House, Inc. As their new owners, Huddle House Inc. will be controlling the chain’s 342 total locations.
Friendly's
Year Established: 1935
Estimated Branch Closures: 37 Branches
Friendly's was founded in 1935 in Springfield, Massachusetts. Almost no restaurant chain has faced as many ups and downs as this East Coast-based family restaurant has. The company has faced numerous emerging bankruptcies and has had to redo its menus and strategies several times over the years. But despite all of its troubles, it has managed to survive.
Friendly's currently holds around 10,000 employees, and was last cited as having 157 locations. Many believe that it will keep on going for many more decades, as the company was originally founded during the Great Depression and still managed to make it and get its name known throughout America. That being said, the chain does have plans to close several key locations this year that have been vastly underperforming over the years.
O’Charley’s
Year Established: 1971
Estimated Branch Closures: 12 Branches
O'Charley's is a popular casual dining restaurant and bar chain located exclusively in the United States. It used to have over 200 branches, but currently stands at about 190. The company was acquired by Fidelity National Financial in 2012 and became part of the American Blue Ribbon Holdings.
Despite their best efforts, O'Charley's had to close down 8 branches in a single day in mid 2019. As of today, the food chain has no more branches left in Florida, and is down to their last three locations in Louisiana. They had actually appeared in Forbes "200 Best Small Companies in America" from 2002 to 2005, but alas, that was an entire decade and a half ago. Hopefully, they'll manage to whip things back into shape before any more locations shut down.
McCormick & Schmick’s
Year Established: 1979
Estimated Branch Closures: 12 Branches
McCormick & Schmick's was founded in the '70s by Bill McCormick and Doug Schmick, as a premier seafood restaurant with over 80 locations. It features various fresh seafood, and also serves steaks, poultry, entrée salads and pastas. In mid 2019, the company held around 40 branches throughout the United States.
Its revenues were in excess of $350 million as of 2010, but had later lost more than $20 million in that very same year instead of making a profit. McCormick & Schmick's is facing troubles even today, and might very well close down completely in the next few years. It currently still holds a few thousand employees, so hopefully things look up again, at least for the sake of the work force.
Outback Steakhouse
Year Established: 1988
Estimated Branch Closures: 43 Branches
Outback Steakhouse has been steadily closing locations for years, joining a long list of underperforming chains under its parent company, Bloomin’ Brands. While the Australian-inspired restaurant is popular in its home state of Florida, it hasn’t been quite as successful in other locations across the US.
While Outback closed 43 branches this year, their global presence means they won’t disappear completely anytime soon. Still, a steady decline in revenue for Bloomin’ Brands means more closures are likely on the horizon. Get those Bloomin’ Onions while you can!