Wendy's Pulls The Plug On Hundreds Of Restaurants — Here's What's Going On

2026 is still in its infancy (or at least its toddlerhood), but something new is always going on in the restaurant industry. Some of the happenings are fun stuff (the launch of a Filipino-flavor spring drink at Starbucks and seasoned shrimp at Popeyes), but other news is a bit of a downer (Chipotle still refusing to offer a value menu). The latest news from Wendy's falls squarely into the latter category: The chain expects to be shuttering between 300 and 360 locations (some 5 to 6% of its U.S. locations) over the course of the year.

Wendy's interim CEO, Ken Cook, said the reason for the closures is that they are not performing up to expectations, according to CNN. (In other words, the stores aren't moving as many Baconators and "Tendys" as shareholders expected.) Cook added that closing these less-profitable stores will "boost sales and profitability at nearby locations" and allow the company to pour its resources into the better-performing restaurants. So far, Wall Street seems to agree, since the stock rose about 5% after the announcement about the closures.

Wendy's, like the rest of us, has experienced its share of economic woes in recent years. The recent stock market bump, while a positive sign, comes just after shares dipped to the lowest they'd been in 13 years. The chain's overall sales in the U.S. also fell by over 11.3% in the fourth quarter of 2025. 

So why is Wendy's struggling? The reason is a pretty obvious one — operating costs go up, and as a consequence, so do prices, but customers aren't any better off than they were before. (Worse, in many cases.) In fact, one core demographic for fast food chains — those in lower-income brackets — is being priced out of the fast-food market altogether.

Although Wendy's has been focused on exciting new offerings like the Chicken Tenders Ranch Wrap and Cheesy Bacon Cheeseburger, it has started doing more for the value-minded customer, such as expanding the "Biggie" line of value meals. Whether this, in conjunction with the closures, helps to stop the revenue bleeding remains to be seen. Still, we wish Wendy's well since it would be sad to see the famous Frosty disappear forever from the fast-food landscape.