McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's rival closing more restaurants

Both Burger King and Wendy's have closed, or plan to close, hundreds of restaurants.

In the case of Burger King, the company has suffered from the loss of key franchise operators. That's something the chain mitigated by buying some of the closed locations, but it has lost dozens of restaurants.

Wendy's, which also uses a franchise model, has taken a more aggressive approach to its fleet of restaurants. Interim CEO Ken Cook laid out those plans during the chain's third-quarter earnings call.

"On our last earnings call, I outlined three key initiatives: knowing our customers better, simplifying our programming and execution, and working more closely with our franchisees as One Wendy's. In addition to these initiatives, we made the strategic decision to prioritize growing average unit volumes over net unit growth in our U.S. business," he said.

That led the company to launch "Project Fresh," a comprehensive turnaround plan to drive profitable growth and long-term value across its U.S. system.

Wendy's is closing restaurants

In addition, the chain has been evaluating its underperforming restaurants with an eye toward improving their performance.

"For some locations, it's about making operational changes or deploying technology. For others, we're improving productivity by aligning operating hours to better match demand, particularly in the morning and late-night dayparts," Cook shared.

For some locations, the solution will be more dramatic.

"In other cases, the solution will be to close consistently underperforming restaurants. These actions will strengthen the system and enable franchisees to invest more capital and resources in their remaining restaurants," he shared.

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The chain expects to close about 400 struggling locations in order to free up capital to improve the remaining locations.

"Investments include new kitchen equipment to ensure the highest quality, best-tasting food and technology upgrades such as digital menu boards to enhance productivity and give our teams more time to focus on hospitality," the interim CEO added.

Hardee's is closing restaurants, too

While it has not been as public as Wendy's or Burger King about its problems, Hardee's has suffered from a steadily shrinking restaurant base. Closures have happened for a number of different reasons.

• In 2023, Summit Restaurants Holdings, a major Hardee’s franchisee, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. This led the company to close nearly 40 Hardee’s locations across multiple states in the Midwest and South, which it attributed to underperformance across all restaurants and a lack of in-store foot traffic. 
• In 2024, Hardee’s closed locations in at least seven cities in Illinois and has already made multiple closures in 2025, including one in Delaware.
  Source: FinanceBuzz
• Hardee's sister brand, Carl’s Jr., also suffered a similar fate. Over the last several months, it has closed multiple locations, with over 20 restaurants in Australia last year and one in Georgetown, Texas.
  Source: 7 News Australia

Hardee's closures have continued in 2025.

Select Hardee's closures in 2025

Because Hardee's is not publicly traded, its parent company, CKE Restaurants, has no obligation to report which restaurants it has closed. But local news generally covers when a location shuts down.

• Hardee’s, Fargo, ND (3072 45th St. S.): Permanently closed in November 2025.
  Source: InForum
• Hardee’s, West Fargo, ND (1450 13th Ave. E.): Permanently closed November 2025.
  Source: InForum
• All Hardee’s locations in Sioux City, IA: Both stores closed permanently as of November 2025.
  Source: KTIV
• Hardee’s, Willmar, MN (1704 First Street South): Permanently closed November 2025.
  Source: West Central Tribune
• Hardee’s, Marion, IL (1100 N. Carbon St.): Permanently closed (door sign) as of December 2025.
  Source: KFVS
• Hardee’s, Fredericktown, MO (501 E. Highway 72): Abruptly closed with no notice on December 4, 2025.
  Source: Daily Journal Online
• Hardee’s, Millvale, PA: Closed permanently in August 2025 after more than 50 years in operation.

Hardee's restuarants at risk of closure:

• A franchisee operator of Hardee’s (owning 76 locations across AL, MS, TN, and FL) reportedly faces a possible closure by the parent company.
  Source: RetailWire

Hardee's has faced other problems

Hardee's adopted AI to assist with its drive-thru operations, and even after the company it partnered with added human oversight, it has not gone well.

"A 2024 report on drive-thru wait times published by Intouch Insight confirmed that the process of ordering at the Hardee's drive-thru can be slow, and is apparently getting slower. In 2022, Hardee's earned praise as the third-highest category leader for the fastest total time customers spent in a drive-thru — but by 2024, the chain didn't even crack the top five," The Takeout reported.

Hardee's has also struggled with customer perception.

"On Yelp, the Hardee's brand has over 1,380 locations rated on the site, with more than 9,000 reviews, and those reviews have earned the chain an underwhelming average rating of 2.3 out of 5," according to Yelp data.

Reviews tend to be harsh.

"Had their $5.99 double cheeseburger combos today. Burgers were super small and cooked like hockey pucks. The cheese was cold instead of melted, and the buns were stale. Fries were hot, and tea was fine. All Hardee's in the area have definitely gone downhill," Charlie B wrote on the Yelp page for his local restaurant.

Hardee's also has poor business metrics

• A typical Hardee’s location generates less than $1.2 million per year, lower than any of its primary competitors.

• By comparison, Burger King does $1.6 million, Wendy’s $2.1 million, and McDonald’s nearly $4 million. All four have similar business models, with all three dayparts and restaurants with drive-thrus.
• Hardee’s average unit volumes are lower than they were a decade ago.
• The chain has closed 200 U.S. locations over the past decade, including 150 over the past three years.
• The brand’s domestic system sales are down 12% since 2014, according to data from Restaurant Business sister company Technomic.
  Source: Restaurant Business Online  

Hardee's is not alone in its struggles.

“Closures were a common theme among the brands with declining sales,” Technomic noted. About 75% of the chains in this group shuttered at least one location during the year.

That can be partly attributed to issues facing the entire industry.

"The restaurant industry faced significant headwinds in 2024, including higher prices, shifting consumer spending patterns, and increased competition," said Kevin Schimpf, senior director of industry research at Technomic.

"Despite a challenging environment, Top 500 chain sales stayed positive, climbing for the fourth consecutive year.”

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