Just over two weeks into the new year, multiple fast-food and fast-casual chain restaurants across the United States have announced plans to downsize, with some stating they intend to focus resources on their stronger-performing stores.
Among the restaurants that have announced closures are Noodles & Company, Red Robin and Wendy’s.
Noodles & Company, in a Jan. 12 news release, confirmed it closed 33 company-owned restaurants and nine franchise restaurants in 2025. In the coming year, there will likely be 30 to 35 more closures, the company said.
Joe Christina, CEO and president of Noodles & Company, said the company saw sales growth of over 7% for its company-owned restaurants in the fourth quarter, and the decision to close some locations was made carefully. He added that closing some restaurants will allow the brand to strengthen itself and its finances.
“Our fourth quarter results reinforce that when we concentrate our resources on restaurants with the strongest opportunity to perform, Noodles can drive meaningful top-line growth,” Christina said in the news release. “That performance gives us added confidence as we continue to refine our portfolio in 2026.”
USA TODAY contacted Noodles & Company for a complete list of closures, but has not yet received a response.
Here are other restaurants that have recently announced closures, and what we know about them so far.
Back in November, Wendy’s Interim CEO Ken Cook told investors during a quarterly earnings call that the company planned to close a “mid single-digit percentage” of locations. At the time, Wendy’s had about 6,000 locations nationwide, meaning the closures could amount to about 240 to 360 stores.
Part of the plan, Cook said, was to improve technology and equipment in some locations, transfer underperforming locations to new operators, or close the locations. He said the closures were expected to start during the year’s fourth quarter.
When reached by email in early January, Wendy’s declined to share a complete list of closures; however, the company stated that it is working to make sure it has a “restaurant footprint that consistently delivers an exceptional experience for our customers and is profitable for our franchisees.”
Underperforming restaurants may close as part of this strategy, Wendy’s said in the statement.
Some locations closed in late December include Wendy’s in Levittown, Pennsylvania, West Lafayette, Indiana, and a Stockton, California location, according to the Bucks County Courier Times, the Lafayette Journal & Courier, and the Stockton Record, all part of the USA TODAY Network.
Red Robin announced in February 2025 that it planned to close about 70 underperforming locations to repay debt. Later that year, the burger restaurant stated during an earnings call that the company’s attempts to improve performance at some locations worked so well that it didn’t need to close as many locations.
When asked for an updated number of closures and a list of locations on Jan. 15, Red Robin referred USA TODAY to the company’s second-quarter update and noted improvements.
“Building on this momentum, Red Robin delivered strong financial results in its third quarter of 2025, including beating expectations of comparable restaurant revenue, restaurant level profitability and traffic,” the company said in a Jan. 15 statement. “Red Robin expects to report results for fourth quarter and full year 2025 in its first quarter of 2026.”
While Starbucks had made headlines recently for potential closures in late 2025, the company confirmed on Jan. 16 in a statement to USA TODAY that previous reports about the coffee company closing 400 stores were “misrepresented.”
According to Starbucks, the company closed 400 locations in the fall of 2025.
“As part of our normal course of business, we regularly evaluate our coffeehouses and determine how best to meet the needs of our customers, but there is no plan for extensive closures in 2026,” Starbucks said in a statement.
In late September 2025, Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol said the business was reviewing its U.S. portfolio and would close locations that aren’t able to deliver the environment and financial return the company wants to see.
“Each year, we open and close coffeehouses for a variety of reasons, from financial performance to lease expirations,” Niccol said, adding that Starbucks would end fiscal year 2025 with 18,300 total company-operated and licensed locations across the United States and Canada.
“In fiscal year 2026, we’ll grow the number of coffeehouses we operate as we continue to invest in our business,” Niccol continued. “Over the next 12 months, we also plan to uplift more than 1,000 locations to introduce greater texture, warmth, and layered design.”
Contributing: Jonathan Limehouse, Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA TODAY; JD Mullane, Bucks County Courier Times; Jillian Ellison, Lafayette Journal & Courier; & Angelaydet Rocha, The Stockton Record
Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY’s NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757. Email her at sdmartin@usatoday.com.