Burger King is shutting 400 stores in the United States (US) before 2023 ends, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Restaurant Brands International Inc., which owns the giant fast-food chain, announced.
The Burger King parent CEO, Joshua Kobza, confirmed the widespread store closure during the first quarter earnings call of the company.
Burger King To Shut 400 Stores in the US Before 2023 Ends
Illustration picture shows the logo of Burger King fast-food restaurant in the De Brouckere Place - Brouckereplein neighborhood in Brussels city center, Saturday 18 February 2023.
According to Today, the Restaurant Brands International boss says the firm normally closes "a couple hundred" Burger King stores every year. In history, this has been an annual tradition for the parent company of the giant fast-food chain.
The company revealed that in the first quarter, a total of 124 Burger King stores closed their doors in 2023, which brought down the number of stores in the country to less than 7,000.
And this time, Kobza disclosed in a call with investors that they are looking to shutter roughly 300 to 400 fast food joints across the US.
Why is Burger King Closing Down Hundreds of Stores?
An abandoned Burger King is seen in Washington, DC, on April 18, 2023. - After filing for bankruptcy in March this year, one of the largest Burger King franchisees, Meridian Restaurants Unlimited, has hinted that it will be closing at least 27 of its locations across the regions of Minnesota, Utah, Montana, Kansas, Nebraska, and North Dakota.
The big boss of the BK parent says they are planning to retain the stores of dedicator operators. Kobza says that the widespread closure aims to help protect the brand image of the staple fast food joint.
The Burger King parent chairman, Patrick Doyle, emphasizes that stores that would book sales lower than their targets close before the year ends.
Doyle says they will let go of operators that are not "dedicated" and "enthusiastic." He notes that they will work hand in hand with these franchisees as they bid farewell to the system.
The chairman further says, "There simply is no room for franchisees who are not willing or able to work hard to operate restaurants."
The New York Post reports that Burger King is going strong internationally in sales. But on the other hand, it is facing bankruptcies in two major franchisees in the US.
Despite the looming store closure across the country, the US sales of the fast food joint have seen an 8.7 percent surge since launching the "Reclaim to Flame" project. The campaign, worth a cool $400 million, seeks to streamline the menu while attracting younger customers.
Although Kobza says the number of stores closing is still indefinite, some branches are already set to shut their doors.
As Meridian Restaurants Unlimited has already declared bankruptcy, 27 stores are shutting down, including joints in Minnesota, Michigan, and Utah, according to the US Sun.
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