Latest news with #Top500ChainRestaurantReport
New York Post
7 days ago
- Business
- New York Post
Hooters shutters dozens of restaurants after bankruptcy filing as industry suffers
Hooters has closed dozens of restaurants nationwide just a few months after filing for bankruptcy as a slump in consumer sentiment continues to hit casual dining chains hard. Around 30 locations were shuttered across Florida, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas, according to local news outlets. 'After careful consideration of what is needed to best position our company for the future, Hooters made the difficult decision to close certain Company-owned locations,' with closures effective Wednesday, a Hooters spokesperson told The Post. Hooters has closed dozens of restaurants around the country just a few months after filing for bankruptcy. AP CNN earlier reported the closures. The dining chain, best known for its scantily-clad, all-female staff, filed for bankruptcy in March to address $376 million in debt. At the time, it boasted that its restaurants 'are here to stay' and announced plans to sell all 150 locations to a franchise group backed by the chain's founders. Earlier in the year, Hooters had revealed a 're-Hooterization' effort aimed at creating a more family-friendly image for the chain and improving service times and ingredients. The closures are not a complete surprise, as the chain said it was evaluating its retail footprint during the bankruptcy process. Hooters is just one of many fast-casual dining chains to suffer over the past few years as food prices remain stubbornly high and consumer sentiment slumps, prodding customers to tighten their purse-strings and cook at home more. Last week, Bahama Breeze abruptly closed more than one-third of its locations, or 15 stores, including its sole restaurant on Long Island. The Caribbean-inspired dining chain is owned by Darden Restaurants, which also runs Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse. Hooters is just one of many fast-casual dining chains to suffer over the past few years. Alamy Stock Photo TGI Fridays filed for bankruptcy in November and closed a whopping 100 locations last year. Red Lobster, which struggled to recover from its all-you-can-eat shrimp deal, shuttered at least 50 locations and filed for bankruptcy last May. It hired a new chief executive that summer. Italian restaurant chain Buca di Beppo also closed about 20 locations and filed for bankruptcy in 2024. It was a rough year across the industry. Sales ticked up just 3% across the 500 largest restaurant chains in the US – the slowest rate in a decade aside from the pandemic, according to Technomic's Top 500 Chain Restaurant Report. More than half of those chains saw their sales fail to keep pace with the 4% food service inflation rate, according to the report.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Chipotle and Chick-fil-A helped increase new restaurant locations among top brands in 2024
Chick-fil-A and Chipotle were the tip of the spear in augmenting new restaurant locations last year among top brands, per a new report from food service research firm Technomic. Chick-fil-a grew its footprint by 4.9% in 2024 to a total of 3,109 restaurants, while Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) expanded 8.1% in the same period to a total of 3,644 locations, according to the firm's 'Top 500 Chain Restaurant Report.' It was the fourth year in a row of U.S. restaurants expanding their number of overall locations. 'Location development buoyed Top 500 performance,' the company said. 'The Top 500 footprint expanded by 1.6% in 2024 to a total of over 236,000 restaurants, marking the fourth consecutive year of robust location development for chain restaurants.' Chipotle CEO Scott Boatwright said in a February earnings call that part of the company's success rested on 'tremendous progress' in expanding its footprint in Europe. The company, though, reported a 'slowdown' in consumer spending during the first quarter of 2025, citing customers foregoing restaurant visits to save money along with adverse weather. Meanwhile, Chick-fil-A had its sales slow in 2024, per Nation's Restaurant News. The fast-food chain is charting a $1 billion international expansion overseas starting with five new locations in the U.K. and one in Singapore this year. Chick-fil-A is also automating as part of a bigger strategy to reduce labor costs and improve company efficiency. It's tapping into other revenue streams as well, like selling lemon oil to the beauty and fragrance industries. The increased competition among chicken-based restaurants is prompting more jockeying to increase market share, especially as consumers get pickier about where and how they spend their cash. Raising Cane's was another chicken-based fast-food establishment that grew enormously last year. In 2024, it expanded by 13.9% and reached 828 destinations, according to the Technomic report. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Sign in to access your portfolio
