{"id":13520,"date":"2019-05-18T07:18:56","date_gmt":"2019-05-18T14:18:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/moneyppl.com\/?p=13520"},"modified":"2019-05-21T03:11:53","modified_gmt":"2019-05-21T10:11:53","slug":"are-these-40-chain-restaurants-closing-for-good","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.moneyppl.com\/are-these-40-chain-restaurants-closing-for-good\/13520\/","title":{"rendered":"Are These 40 Chain Restaurants Closing For Good?"},"content":{"rendered":"
These 40 chain restaurants are closing down locations across the United States. We’re not saying they will definitely disappear forever- but they just might. Even when the economy is struggling, people still have to eat. Going to a restaurant is one of the few things that most people still manage to squeeze into their budget. However, sometimes, chain eateries can flop if they aren’t too careful. Make sure you visit these places before they are gone for good!<\/p>\n No! Say it ain’t so! Applebee’s is a sit-down restaurant that is a family favorite. However, they spent a lot of money trying to overhaul their menu in order to attract Millennials to come to their restaurant and bar. Unfortunately, by changing the menu, it made some of the loyal customers upset that they could no longer get their favorite meals. From 2016 to 2018, they shut down a total of 225 locations. <\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Mexican restaurant Baja Fresh began in 1990, and it became popular enough to boast 200 locations after a few years. In 2002, Wendy’s bought out Baja Fresh. However, they made some decisions that make the business go downhill, and Wendy’s quickly had to sell it by 2006. They just barely missed the Great Recession, but apparently, the new owners were able to turn it around to help it survive at all. By 2017, they had to close down several locations. There are now only 165 Baja Fresh restaurants in the US.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Steak ‘n Shake was founded in 1934 in Normal, IL, so it has been around for quite some time. However, in 2016, their annual sales plummeted a whopping $1 billion. The next year, it lost just shy of another billion; $940 million. They also shut down 60 restaurants. It would seem that only people in the midwest like the taste of their burgers. As soon as they start trying to expand to other states, they are met with a “no thank you”.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Founded in 1936, Big Boy originally opened as “Bob’s Pantry”. Back then, the burger joint was extremely popular, and by the 1970’s, they had over 1,000 locations open in the United States. However, since then, many of them have shut down. Today, there are fewer than 200 Big Boy restaurants open in the midwest.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In 1985, Don Pablo’s was founded in Lubbock, Texas. For years, the company was growing bigger and bigger, until they had 120 locations around the United States. However, it started to receive a lot of competition with Tex-Mex restaurants like Chi-Chi’s and Moe’s, and after a while, more and more locations started to shut down. They went through several bankruptcies, and it was bought out many times. Today, there is just one lonely Don Pablo’s restaurant left in business in Deptford, New Jersey.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Bob Evans was founded in 1946 in Ohio, and it spread across the United States to over 400 locations. In 2016, Bob Evans closed 27 restaurants, and their company was struggling to grow. In 2017, Bob Evans sold all of their remaining restaurants for $565 million to a company named Golden Gate Capital- they are the same people who own California Pizza Kitchen and Red Lobster. So, only time will tell if they can turn the failing restaurant around, or if it will continue to sink in profits.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In 1978, a buffet called Souplantation opened in San Diego California. They had a business model where you can have all-you-can-eat soup, salad, and bread. This was perfect for health conscious Californians, and they did very well. So, they opened up a second restaurant called Sweet Tomatoes, which had a similar food selection, with the addition of pizza and pasta. Their first bankruptcy happened in 2016, and they had to sell all of their assets. This forced 30 restaurants to close. Today, there are only a few locations left open.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n BJ’s Brewhouse was founded in California in 1978. The restaurant sold pizza, as well as some great beer. In 2018, BJ’s Brewhouse stocks dipped 25%, which is not looking good at all. Its parent company, DineEquity, also lost 47% of its value, as well. So with less than 200 restaurants open in the USA, there is a chance we may see more closing in the future.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Besides Nathan’s Hot Dogs and Stewart’s Root Beer, there aren’t very many hot dog joints out there anymore, probably because people prefer to wait until their summer barbecues. Since the 1950’s, Dogs & Suds was a cute drive-in burger and hot dog place. By 1968, they boasted 560 restaurants all over the United States. Today, there are only 10, and they are all in midwestern states. So, if you see one of these rare spots on a road trip, you just may want to stop in.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Fish and chips are an iconic meal in England. Arthur Treacher, as you might imagine, was a British actor. He became very famous in the 1950’s, and by the 60’s, he decided to open a restaurant chain in the United States. The first was in Columbus, Ohio, in 1969. At its peak, they had a whopping 800 restaurants across the US. However, by the 1970’s, it began to decline. Today, there are only 7 locations open in New York and Ohio.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The very first Blimpie sandwich shop opened in Hoboken, New jersey. At its peak, they had over 2,000 restaurants all over the world. However, today, there is so much competition with stores like Subway, Jersey Mike’s, and Firehouse Subs. There are now only 250 locations.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Bloomin’ Brands, which is the parent company of Carrabba’s Italian Grill, announced that they needed to close under-performing restaurants. A total of 43 Outback Steakhouse, Carrabba’s and Bonefish Grill locations closed in 2017. This does not necessarily mean that the company will go bankrupt. They may have been preventing a total shut-down. However, if they are getting smaller, chances are that fewer people are choosing to eat there.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Way back in 1991, a New York City based restaurant called Planet Hollywood was created. The restaurant was Hollywood themed, of course, and it got plenty of celebrity endorsement. At its peak, there were 87 locations in major cities around the USA. However, after a while, the stars lost interest, and so did the investors. Today, there are only 6 restaurants left. However, they expanded to having full hotels and resorts, which may make up for the losses in restaurants.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n You may remember Chi-Chi’s as a popular Tex-Mex restaurant in the early 2000’s. Kids loved going there for birthdays, because they could walk away with a free Mexican sombrero to take home with them. However, the trend in Tex-Mex did not last, and all 200 restaurant locations were completely wiped out of the US, except for their branded products that you can find in grocery stores. They also still have restaurants in Belgium and Luxembourg.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In 1976, the Irish-American restaurant called Bennigans was first launched in Atlanta, Georgia.. In 2007, the company filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, and had to close 150 of its restaurants. They have tried to make a comeback, but there are only 13 locations open today.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n People love food, but with the growing obesity rates in the United States, going to all-you-can-eat buffets has become a faux-pas. So many more people are at least trying to cut back on portion sizes. Hometown Buffet filed for bankruptcy not just once, but three<\/em> times. It is still struggling to stay alive, but it closed 166 restaurants in 2016.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Believe it or not, in the 1960s, Chicken Delight had 1,000 locations open, and it was far more popular than KFC. However, their biggest problem was that the quality and the flavor of the fried chicken was not consistent. People were often unhappy with their food. Today, there are only about a dozen locations still open in New York and Canada.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n For years, Hooters was famous for the place where people (mostly men) could go to drink beer, eat wings, and oggle beautiful waitresses showing off their cleavage. The company tried to expand into lifestyle products, similar to Playboy. They actually tried to open up an airline called Hooters Air, which meant that the company lost millions of dollars. And according to Business Insider, the number of Hooters restaurants has decreased by 7%. The company has decided to strategize to make some changes to appeal to millennials. Only time will tell if they will continue to be popular, or if the idea of a “breastaurant” will become a thing of the past.<\/p>\n40. Applebees<\/span><\/h2>\n
39. Baja Fresh<\/span><\/h2>\n
38. Steak & Shake<\/span><\/h2>\n
37. Big Boy<\/span><\/h2>\n
36. Don Pablo’s<\/span><\/h2>\n
35. Bob Evans<\/span><\/h2>\n
34. Sweet Tomatoes<\/span><\/h2>\n
33. BJ’s Brewhouse<\/span><\/h2>\n
32. Dogs & Suds<\/span><\/h2>\n
31. Arthur Treacher’s Fish & Chips<\/span><\/h2>\n
30. Blimpie<\/span><\/h2>\n
29. Carrabba’s Italian Grill<\/span><\/h2>\n
28. Planet Hollywood<\/span><\/h2>\n
27. Chi Chi’s<\/span><\/h2>\n
26. Bennigan’s<\/span><\/h2>\n
25. Hometown Buffet<\/span><\/h2>\n
24. Chicken Delight<\/span><\/h2>\n
23. Hooters<\/span><\/h2>\n