At a time when food delivery apps dominate smartphones and ghost kitchens operate behind unmarked doors, the familiar glow of chain restaurant signs is dimming across America’s highways and strip malls.
The restaurant scene of 2024 and 2025 reveals a story not just of changing tastes, but of financial reckonings long postponed. As iconic brands that defined casual dining for generations now face existential threats, their struggles reveal deeper truths about American consumption patterns, post-pandemic economics, and the fragility of nostalgia as a business model.
The following 12 restaurant chains, once seemingly permanent fixtures in American culture, are now engaged in strategic retreats that leave communities wondering: Is this goodbye, or merely a painful reinvention?
TGI Fridays
Known for its classic casual dining atmosphere and striped decor, TGI Fridays has been rapidly shrinking its footprint. Once a staple of American dining culture, TGI Fridays has been forced to scale back dramatically due to declining sales (an impact of the pandemic) and increasing debt. The 59-year-old chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November 2024 after closing about 100 locations earlier in the year.
In January 2024 alone, TGI Fridays shuttered 36 “underperforming” restaurants across 12 states, including Massachusetts and New Jersey. Following the bankruptcy filing, the chain closed an additional 30 locations nationwide. The company now plans to keep just 39 (corporate-owned restaurants at the time of bankruptcy filing) restaurants open as it restructures its operations, while franchise-owned locations (56 domestic/international) will remain open.
Denny’s
America’s Diner isn’t immune to the pressures facing casual dining and 24/7 establishments. The longstanding 24-hour diner chain has announced significant closures. In October 2024, Denny’s revealed plans to close 150 restaurants by the end of 2025, with 50 lower-performing locations shutting down before the end of 2024 and the remaining 100 closing in 2025.
This was later updated to include even more closures, with executives announcing they planned to close between 70 and 90 additional restaurants in 2025, on top of the 88 already closed in 2024. To partially offset these closures, Denny’s plans to open 20 to 40 new locations, but the net result will still be a significantly reduced footprint for the breakfast chain.
Ruby Tuesday
Once a mall dining staple, Ruby Tuesday has steadily disappeared from the American restaurant landscape. After filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2020, the company permanently closed 185 restaurants. The closures have continued in the years since, with locations quietly shuttering across the country.
In one specific example, Ruby Tuesday closed its last restaurant in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The chain, which once had over 800 locations, has now been reduced to a fraction of its former size (about 209 locations remain in the U.S.), with many locations having closed in 2024 and dozens more to follow in 2025.
Red Lobster
The seafood chain known for its Cheddar Bay Biscuits filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May 2024, after accumulating more than $1 billion in debt with less than $30 million in cash on hand. The filing came after a disastrous unlimited shrimp promotion that reportedly cost the company millions.
While Red Lobster emerged from bankruptcy in September 2024 after being acquired by Fortress Investment Group, the restructuring resulted in numerous restaurant closures. The company now operates 544 locations across 44 U.S. states, down from its previous footprint. Industry analysts called Red Lobster’s collapse “the most spectacular restaurant collapse of 2024.”
Outback Steakhouse
The popular Australian-themed steakhouse known for its Bloomin’ Onion has been closing numerous locations since last year. In February 2024, Bloomin’ Brands, Outback’s parent company, announced the closure of 41 “underperforming locations” across its portfolio, most of which were Outback Steakhouse restaurants.
These closures have affected more than eight states, including Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Ohio, Florida, New Hampshire, and Hawaii. The latter two states lost all their Outback locations entirely.. While the company still operates hundreds of Outbacks, these strategic closures aim to shed lower-performing sites to improve overall profitability. It signals a trimming of the herd rather than a total retreat, which means the boomerang might be gone from certain towns.
Hooters
The Wing restaurant, known for its waitresses in signature orange shorts, has been quietly closing dozens of locations. In early 2024, approximately 41 Hooters restaurants closed across the United States.
Texas and Florida—states with the most Hooters locations—were hit particularly hard, with at least six restaurants closing in Texas and four in Florida. Other states affected include Illinois, Kentucky, and Ohio. In February 2025, reports emerged that Hooters was preparing to file for bankruptcy after shuttering these locations, with the company owing approximately $376 million. It officially filed for bankruptcy in March 2025.
Burger King
The “Home of the Whopper” has significantly reduced its restaurant count. By the end of 2023, Burger King had closed approximately 400 nationwide locations, leaving fewer than 7,000 restaurants across the U.S. The trend continued into 2024 and 2025, with more closures impacting locations in Florida, Georgia, Nebraska, and New York.
In April 2025, a major Burger King franchisee with 57 restaurants in Florida and Georgia filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, indicating that more locations could be at risk. While the chain itself isn’t going out of business, its footprint is shrinking considerably as franchisees struggle with profitability.
Applebee’s
The neighborhood bar and grill chain announced plans to close 25 to 35 locations in 2024, following the 46 restaurants it shuttered in 2023, citing underperformance. Applebee’s parent company, Dine Brands Global, revealed the closures during an earnings call earlier in the year.
The situation has been particularly difficult in certain markets—for example, eight Applebee’s locations in and around Kansas City, Kansas, closed after a franchisee filed for bankruptcy, leaving just two restaurants in that market. These closures reflect the broader challenges facing casual dining chains as consumers cut back on eating out.
Red Robin
The gourmet burger chain announced in early 2025 that it’s considering the potential closure of approximately 70 underperforming restaurants over the next five years as leases expire. For 2025 alone, Red Robin projected that 15 locations would be shut down, with three expected to close in the first quarter.
The company closed one location during the fourth quarter of 2024 when its lease expired. These closures are part of Red Robin’s strategy to improve its financial performance and repay debt as the chain struggles to compete in the increasingly crowded burger market.
Boston Market
Perhaps the most dramatic restaurant collapse in recent years, Boston Market has seen its location count plummet from over 1,200 at its peak to just 27 restaurants at the beginning of 2024, and reportedly even fewer since then. The rotisserie chicken chain closed approximately 300 locations in 2023 alone, and by the end of 2024, reports indicated only about 16 restaurants remained nationwide.
The rapid pace of closures has been attributed to landlords evicting the chain over unpaid rent and utility bills, and state officials shutting down locations for tax issues. Industry experts suggest Boston Market may be in its final days as a national chain.
IHOP
While not disappearing as rapidly as other chains, the International House of Pancakes has been quietly closing locations. According to reports, IHOP closed at least nine locations in 2024, and more closures are expected.
Although some closures were related to a franchise bankruptcy filing from Exton Operating Group, the company has clarified that these specific closures don’t impact IHOP at the national level. However, the trend of shrinking locations continues as the breakfast chain faces increasing competition from other morning meal options.
Wendy’s
The square-patty burger chain has been shuttering numerous locations despite being one of America’s largest fast-food companies. In 2024, Wendy’s announced plans to close 140 poor-performing restaurants in the fourth quarter alone.
This followed a multi-year trend of closures across the country as the chain works to eliminate underperforming locations. While Wendy’s continues to open new restaurants in more promising locations, the net result has been a significant reshuffling of its national footprint, with some communities losing their local Wendy’s restaurants.