Year Established: 1995
Estimated Branch Closures: 55 Branches
Known as a quick and easy pasta joint, Noodles & Company is fairly new on the chain restaurant scene. Still, the company grew quickly from $300,000 in revenue during its opening year in 1995, to over $300 million in 2013.
Unfortunately, tragedy struck in 2016. After a few years of declining stock, Noodles & Company experienced a data breach that put the account information of hundreds of debit and credit cards at risk. Although the company handled it as well as could be expected, sales continued to decline, leading to many closures for the once-popular noodle joint.
Bob Evans
Year Established: 1953
Estimated Branch Closures: 27 Branches
When Bob Evans arrived on the scene in 1953, the popular home-style comfort food connected with a dedicated customer base. The restaurant even had to create their own sausage plants in order to serve the huge influx of hungry patrons. However, their farm-to-table appeal has diminished with the years.
Recently, the chain restaurant closed down 27 branches in an effort to increase their profits. The decision affected hundreds of workers, all of whom were offered termination benefits if they couldn’t relocate to a new location. Currently, it’s unclear if the closures will be enough to keep the popular chain afloat.
Luby’s
Year Established: 1947
Estimated Branch Closures: 10 Branches
Luby's prides itself on serving affordable food for over seven decades now. It was originally founded by Robert Luby in 1947, and hails from San Antonio, Texas. The cafeteria-like chain has around 80 branches in Austin, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, the Rio Grande Valley, El Paso, and other cities throughout Texas.
Luby's has recently posted a loss in revenue after closing about 30 branches. It closed the third quarter of 2019 with a net loss of $5.3 million. The company is currently under lots of pressure from various investors to replace its management and close down underperforming branches. It’s still unclear how this move will end up, but hopefully they’ll manage to persevere.
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.