Generally, a enterprise has to get smaller with the intention to develop, or a minimum of that is what executives, together with Wendy’s CFO Ken Prepare dinner, say once they clarify why they’re closing places.
“We’re centered on bettering restaurant-level economics, taking a tough have a look at underperforming eating places in our system from each the monetary and buyer expertise perspective and dealing with franchisees to enhance these, switch these to a different operator or probably closing them,” he mentioned throughout the chain’s third-quarter earnings name.
Closing as much as 350 eating places, he mentioned, will enhance the financials of those who stay and go away franchise operators with money to spend money on their remaining places.
Lengthy John Silver’s, an iconic fast-food chain like Wendy’s, has additionally been closing places — dropping from over 1,000 models in 2015 to fewer than 500 presently, primarily based on the Shopper Edge 2026 Restaurant Outlook report.
At its peak, the chain operated greater than 1,400 eating places, in accordance with Meals Republic.
The corporate’s Senior Vice President Tony Ellis, very similar to Prepare dinner, believes that the closures, a minimum of those over the previous three years, have really put the seafood chain in a robust place to return to progress.
Lengthy John Silver’s footprint has shrunk
Tony Ellis advised SeafoodSource that Lengthy John Silver’s has closed “roughly 110 to 120 places over the previous three years.” He mentioned the corporate now operates 214 company-owned eating places and about 262 franchised models, which matches the whole on the corporate’s restaurant locator web page.
Lengthy John Silver’s Chief Advertising Officer Laura Ellis mentioned that not the entire closures had been as a result of monetary efficiency.
“We wish our in-restaurant expertise to be as optimistic because the style of our meals, so we’ve spent a ton of time transforming our footprint,” she mentioned. “As you possibly can think about, our model has been round since 1969, so a few of our eating places had been in dire want of a facelift. This implies a few of these eating places are short-term closures, and a few are a departure from historic technique.”
Tony Ellis defined that just about 70 of the closures got here from the chain exiting co-branded places with Taco Bell, KFC, and A&W, which he mentioned aligns with “broader business development of main chains more and more preferring single-brand places.”
“The corporate listed liabilities of $457.3 million and property of $329.1 million within the Chapter 11 submitting late Monday in U.S. Chapter Courtroom in Delaware,” the Tampa Instances reported.
That submitting was as a result of its 1989 leveraged buyout, which saddled the corporate with debt.
Why has Lengthy John Silver’s shrunk?
QSR Professional revealed an in depth evaluation of Lengthy John Silver’s decline in March.
“There is not any single villain on this story. What’s taking place to Lengthy John Silver’s is structural, compounding, and instructive for anybody who operates or considers investing in legacy QSR franchises,” the web site reported.
Meals Prices, QSR Professional famous, created a systemic downside for the chain.
Extra Eating places:
“Meals prices are the primary downside. Commodity beef costs are unstable, however seafood is in one other class completely. Wild-caught fish provides are topic to fishing quotas, climate occasions, ocean temperature shifts, and worldwide commerce dynamics,” it shared.
Not having the ability to pivot to rooster or beef throughout occasions when fish costs are excessive additionally created distinctive challenges for the chain.
“McDonald’s can quietly shift its beef mix when spot costs spike. There is not any equal transfer obtainable when your total model promise is fish,” QSR Professional added.
The seafood model additionally has a visitors sample downside.
“Seafood has traditionally been a dinner-leaning daypart, with a secondary spike throughout Lent. That leaves monumental breakfast and lunch capability sitting idle, a structural waste that commodity chains like McDonald’s or Taco Bell resolve by spanning all three dayparts. Lengthy John Silver’s has by no means cracked breakfast at scale,” the commerce publication shared.
Lengthy John Silver’s has refreshed a few of its eating places.Shutterstock
Eating places are struggling broadly
“The restaurant house has been robust. There’s numerous competitors, so it’s a really saturated market to start with,” Black Field Chief Insights Officer Victor Fernandez advised Restaurant Dive.
It is plenty of adverse headwinds impacting companies on the similar time, Ari Felhandler, an fairness analyst protecting the patron sector at Morningstar, mentioned to Restaurant Dive.
“Along with ballooning meals and labor prices, operators are coping with greater insurance coverage premiums, additional straining their funds, Felhandler added. “On the similar time, the business has remained stubbornly reliant on worth promotions, additional squeezing margins.”
Lengthy John Silver’s is in the midst of a comeback
“The excellent news is that we’re not struggling,” Laura Ellis advised SeafoodSource.
She defined that the corporate simply celebrated 16 consecutive quarters of comparable gross sales progress, marking a milestone “we’re very happy with as a model.”
Tony Ellis added that the chain’s gross sales elevated from roughly $400 million on the finish of 2022 to just about $430 million on the finish of 2025.
4 Oaks Companions bought Lengthy John Silver’s in 2022, in accordance with Franchise Instances.
“4 Oaks Companions has its sights set on worldwide growth, with a specific give attention to the Southeast Asian market. It has repeatedly operated a number of places in Singapore since 1983, and lately, has opened new places in Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia,” in accordance with Meals Republic.
Laura Ellis, who spent eight years at Yum Manufacturers, thinks the model has home progress potential as properly.
“Generally you’re employed for a model that’s nostalgic and folks say, ‘I used to like that, however I don’t prefer it anymore.’ Once I inform individuals I work for Lengthy John Silver’s, that’s not the response I get in any respect. It’s, ‘I really like Lengthy John Silver’s. I didn’t know there was one close by me anymore,’” she advised Franchise Instances.
“We’re actually driving consciousness and reminding those that we’re right here and opening new places.”
