Nov. 8 (UPI) — Wendy’s is closing about 300 locations over the next year as the fast-food chain seeks to revitalize its business model and become more profitable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Interim Chief Executive Officer Ken Cook announced the pending closings on Friday and said they represent a small fraction of the popular restaurant chain’s 6,000 locations in the United States, CNN reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cook told analysts that “consistently underperforming” locations will be closed so that they won’t reflect poorly on the Wendy’s brand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “These actions will strengthen the system and enable franchisees to invest more capital and resources in their remaining restaurants,” Cook explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Closures of underperforming units are expected to boost sales and profitability at nearby locations.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n The restaurant closures will start this year and continue through next year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The fast-food chain last year closed 140 restaurants for similar reasons, but it still reported a 4.7% decline in sales during the third quarter of 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Meanwhile, Burger King, McDonald’s and Shake Shack reported revenue increases during the quarter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Among the thousands of remaining Wendy’s locations, Cook said many will benefit from improved equipment and technology, and several also will be transferred to new owners, according to USA Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wendy’s has not posted a list of locations targeted for closure or indicated how many in each respective state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n