In 2024, these restaurant chains shut down some of their locations.

• In 2024, restaurant chains such as Wendy's, Denny's, and Applebee's shut down locations due to a decrease in dining out among consumers.
• According to Black Box Intelligence, the number of U.S. restaurant visits decreased during the first 10 months of the year.
• The restaurant industry experienced significant losses, resulting in numerous bankruptcies and closures.

In 2024, many restaurant chains shut down underperforming locations due to a challenging year for the industry, with the aim of boosting their sales in the future.

In 2024, consumers who were tired of inflation reduced their restaurant spending and opted for value and discounts when they did eat out. According to data from industry tracker Black Box Intelligence, U.S. restaurant visits decreased for the first 10 months of the year.

Nearly triple the number of restaurant bankruptcies occurred in 2024 compared to 2020, which was during the pandemic.

Casual-dining chains have been struggling to attract customers, exacerbating the challenges faced by the segment since the Great Recession. The rise of fast-casual chains has led many diners to choose the convenience and quality offered by players like Chipotle or Panera over the casual-dining chains that previously dominated.

Here are the restaurant chains that announced closures in 2024:

Wendy's

By the end of the year, will close 140 underperforming locations, in addition to the roughly 80 closures it had in the first three quarters.

The company decided to remove some outdated restaurants with annual unit volumes of approximately $1 million each to enhance its overall footprint.

Wendy's CEO, Kirk Tanner, informed investors on the company's third-quarter earnings conference call that the company expects to end 2024 with an unchanged restaurant count, despite closures, due to new restaurant openings.

Applebee's

In May, Applebee's parent announced plans to close between 25 and 35 of its U.S. locations. By late September, the global unit count of Applebee's had decreased by 36 locations compared to the previous year.

For the past six quarters, Applebee's has experienced a decline in same-store sales, as stated in company filings.

Since 2016, Dine Brands, the owner of IHOP, has closed more stores than it has opened annually, except for 2022.

Denny's

The 24-hour diner chain plans to close about 150 restaurants by the end of 2025, including this year's closures. This brings the total number of open locations to roughly 1,300.

The restaurants slated for closure are among the lower-performing units in the chain, with annual unit volumes ranging from $1.9 million to $2 million, executives stated during the company's investor day in October. After these restaurants close, Denny's anticipates that both its same-store sales and annual unit volumes will increase. In the most recent quarter, the chain's same-store sales were relatively flat.

Between 2025 and 2026, Denny's plans to open 45 to 50 net new locations annually.

TGI Fridays

In November, TGI Fridays filed for bankruptcy protection after shuttering 86 restaurants, with 36 closures in January and another 50 in late October.

The number of TGI Fridays locations could decrease further as a bankruptcy court in Texas decides the chain's future.

Red Lobster

Red Lobster permanently shuttered more than 120 restaurants in 2024.

The seafood chain closed about 100 locations before filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May. After emerging from bankruptcy, the company rejected the leases of 23 more restaurants.

With 2024 now behind us, Red Lobster is optimistic about a future without any more restaurant closures and a possible comeback.

Noodles & Co.

In August, the fast-casual chain announced that it would shut down approximately 20 of its 475 restaurants following a thorough review of its entire restaurant network.

The company has been working to enhance its operations and finances after facing challenges in recent years. In addition, Noodles & Co. has been revamping its menu, removing unpopular dishes and introducing new options to attract more customers.

The company reported a 3.3% decline in same-store sales in its most recent quarter.

Bloomin'

In 2024, the parent company of Outback Steakhouse, Carrabba's Italian Grill and Bonefish Grill closed 41 underperforming restaurants.

Outback locations with leases dating back to the 1990s and early 2000s were affected by the closures, executives said during the company's earnings conference call in February. The decision to close these locations was based on their sales and traffic, as well as the cost of investments to improve them.

In recent quarters, Bloomin' has faced challenges in increasing sales, with its U.S. same-store sales declining by 1.5% in the third quarter.