Burger King is planning to shut down 400 U.S. locations as it competes with McDonald’s and Chipotle.
The closures will happen by the end of this year, the New York Post reported Friday, noting that on the other hand, it has added locations and sales have been doing well internationally.
However, in America, the fast food chain has been grappling with bankruptcies regarding two large franchisees, the report continued.
“In the first quarter, Burger King closed a net 124 US locations, or 1.7%, to end the quarter with just under 7,000 US restaurants, according to the earnings release from its parent company Restaurant Brands International,” it said.
Now, the brand wants more franchisees who have better finances. However, 300 to 400 restaurants are expected to close, according to CEO Joshua Kobza.
The Post report stated:
The brand’s $400 million “Reclaim the Flame” turnaround plan – to reverse its loss of market share, revive run-down restaurants, streamline overly complicated menus and operations, and draw more young customers – may be starting to work as Burger King’s US comparable sales rose 8.7%.
Meanwhile, 26 Burger King franchises in Michigan were supposed to close down by the middle of April, Breitbart News reported in March.
The outlet said:
A letter from EYM King Michigan, LLC, to the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity said the company will “[p]ermanently cease operations in Michigan due to the unforeseen business circumstances and not being able to reach a resolution with the Burger King Corporation.”
Customers were unhappy when they heard the news. One person told CBS Detroit she was looking forward to a good meal.
“Man, listen. I was about to grab me a Whopper with cheese. Listen, with extra mayo. No, womp, womp, womp,” she said:
“Every time we come in here, every time we stop here, either there’s not enough people in there, something’s down. This is probably the third time I’ve been here and it looks like a ghost town,” the woman commented.
According to the Post, larger restaurant chains have seen better sales during the first quarter. The news comes amid worries over consumer spending power as inflation soars in President Joe Biden’s (D) economy.
During a recent appearance on Fox News Channel’s Your World, Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Austan Goolsbee said that “inflation’s above where we want it to be.” He added that “it hasn’t come down as fast as we wanted.”
Jesus Christ is King
Comments are closed.