Year Established: 2000
Estimated Branch Closures: 14 Branches
Yet another Bloomin’ Brands chain, Bonefish Grill isn’t exempt from the wave of closures that plague its parent company. While this restaurant is focused on seafood fare in a casual environment, many underperforming branches have already been shut down.
With only 215 locations across the US, 14 branch closures might be devastating for this chain. Despite their sustainable practices, Bonefish simply hasn’t pulled in the revenue Bloomin’ expects. These branch closures are part of the company’s larger initiatives to focus their income on branches that turn a substantial profit.
Burger King
Year Established: 1953
Estimated Branch Closures: 250 Branches
Burger King is one of the world's largest fast food hamburger chains, and has almost 18,000 global branches bearing its name. Its annual revenues are in the billions, and the popular chain reported having over 34,000 employees back in 2011. One of the company's mottos is "Great Food Comes First", which they proudly present throughout their locations.
With over 11 million daily visitors, there's almost nobody in the world who hasn't been to one of Burger King's branches. Unfortunately, Burger King recently announced its plans to close around 225 branches that have been underperforming worldwide. This is a large increase in closing rates relative to previous years. Hopefully, the chain will manage to bounce back and reopen some of its doors.
IHOP
Year Established: 1958
Estimated Branch Closures: 40 Branches
IHOP is an international breakfast chain that specializes in pancakes. Its name stands for "International House of Pancakes" and it currently has restaurants all across the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and the Middle East. With almost 2,000 branches and tens of thousands of employees, the company generates annual revenues that exceed one billion dollars.
The chain is currently owned by Dine Brands Global. Almost 100% of its locations are franchisees, and most of these branches are open 24/7. Despite what seems like a steady growing direction from this major restaurant chain, IHOP has recently announced that they’re officially closing several branches that aren’t quite pulling their weight.
Taco Cabana
Year Established: 1978
Estimated Branch Closures: 19 Branches
Another popular stop for quick and easy Mexican food, Taco Cabana specializes in Tex-Mex-inspired food that’s both authentic and delicious. Although Taco Cabana started in San Antonio, Texas, the restaurant quickly expanded to include over 165 locations across Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico.
Unfortunately, Taco Cabana recently experienced a massive setback in their growth. Without warning, the restaurant closed 19 locations in San Antonio, Houston, Dallas, and Austin. The decision followed a period of heavy losses that the Tex-Mex chain simply couldn’t recover from.
Subway
Year Established: 1965
Estimated Branch Closures: 1000 Branches
While Subway was once the pinnacle of fast, healthy food, the popular chain experienced a massive decline in sales over the years. In 2016, Subway closed 359 locations, marking the first year that the chain closed more branches than it opened. The subsequent years arrived with even more losses, forcing 866 branches to close in 2017, followed by 1,100 in 2018.
Unfortunately, the tides have yet to turn for Subway. The company recently closed another 1,000 locations, again eating away at the remaining 24,000 American branches in operation.