Wendy's, the fast-food chain founded in 1969, is closing around 350 of its more than 7,000 worldwide locations as part of a strategy to drive profitable growth.
The chain, which operates over 5,830 stores in the United States, plans to shut roughly five to six percent of its US locations in 2026 under its Project Fresh program.
First closings confirmed
A restaurant at 4003 Wilmington Pike in Kettering, Ohio has already closed, with a sign on the door reading: “This location is permanently closed.” Another store in the Drayton area of Moraine also shut within four months. Wendy's has not announced details of other stores set to close.
CEO explains rationale
In a fourth-quarter earnings call, CEO Ken Cook said: “By closing consistently underperforming restaurants, we are enabling our franchisee partners to increase focus on locations with the greatest potential for profitable growth.” He added that closing about 6% of locations under Project Fresh will improve profitability and franchisee economics.
Wendy's reported a 5.5% decline in global system-wide sales in the first quarter, driven by a 7.8% decrease in the US. The first Wendy's was opened in Ohio in 1969 by Dave Thomas.
