Wendy's to Close 200-350 U.S. Stores by 2026

Wendy's Co. announced Friday that it plans to close between 200 and 350 underperforming restaurants across the United States by 2026, as part of a broader restructuring effort to reverse declining sales and improve overall system health.

The closures, representing a mid-single-digit percentage of the chain's approximately 6,000 U.S. locations, will begin this year and target sites that have consistently dragged down company performance, according to interim CEO Ken Cook. Speaking during a quarterly earnings call with analysts, Cook explained that the move is a key component of the company's system optimization strategy, launched as part of its October turnaround plan known as Project Fresh. "These actions will strengthen the system and enable franchisees to invest more capital and resources in their remaining restaurants," Cook said. The company has not released a list of specific locations affected, and it remains unclear how many jobs will be impacted or if positions could shift to nearby stores.

The announcement comes amid challenging results for the third quarter, during which U.S. same-store sales fell 4.7 percent, driven by commodity inflation, higher labor costs and a...