Fast Food Chain With 200 Illinois Locations Is Closing 140 Stores

As we enter the last two months of 2024, a major player in the fast food business just announced that they're going to be permanently closing around 140 store locations across the country. The reason is the same reason we've heard other chains use: The stores are underperforming.

If there's one compound word we've heard a lot here in Illinois and across the country in 2024, it's definitely underperform. Or, underperforming when you're talking about multiple store locations that are looking at being placed on the chopping block.

With this latest announcement, we have another big company looking to shore things up by closing up the stores that they perceive to be dragging them down. Some of the other companies who've walked, or are continuing to walk the same path this year include:

• Red Lobster
• Denny's
• TGI Fridays
• MOD Pizza
• Hardee's
• Hooters
• Cracker Barrel
• Applebee's

This Week, Wendy's Announced During An Earnings Call That They Would Be Closing About 140 Of Their Restaurants Around The Country That Are Outdated And Underperforming

When you consider that as of the 3rd quarter of 2024, Wendy's had 6,011 stores in the United States and another 1,281 internationally (7,292 locations in total), 140 locations isn't a huge number of store closures (just under 2%)...but it is if you work there or frequently visit one of the potential closures.

Here in Illinois, we've got 200 Wendy's locations. At this point, Wendy's has not yet released a master list of the stores they're planning on shuttering indefinitely, but we should learn the answer very soon because Wendy's plan is to have these places closed by the end of this year, which is about 60 days from now.

FastCompany.com:

When asked about the geographic locations of the closures, (Wendy's CEO Kirk) Tanner replied, “[If] you look across the entire U.S., these are really spread out. It’s not one geography, in particular . . . It’s across the board. We have designed this initiative to ensure that over time, many of these units will be replaced by new restaurants at better locations with significantly improved sales and profitability. We anticipate that total closures in 2024, including additional closures in the fourth quarter, will be offset by new restaurant openings this year."

One More Thing...Do You Know About Wendy's Collar And It's Supposedly Hidden Word?

Take a look at the two photos above, and focus on Wendy's collar. What do you see?

Many people see the word "Mom" clearly spelled out in the ruffles of her collar, but a spokesperson for Wendy's denies that it was done on purpose. The logo now being used by Wendy's was introduced back in 2013, and people immediately began noticing the word Mom in the collar.

ABCNews.com (from 2013):

Denny Lynch, Wendy's senior vice president of communications said, "We are aware of this and find it interesting that it appears our Wendy cameo has 'mom' on her ruffled collar. We can assure you it was unintentional."

Lynch said a design firm created the logo for the company.

Sure. Totally believable. It's not like a company would ever try to subliminally suggest to you that their food is wholesome like your mom, right? Here's more on that: