More Burger King locations are shutting down, according to multiple news reports.
The latest closures will take place in Florida, New York, and Nebraska. Earlier this year, franchisees shut down 26 stores in Michigan in March and 27 more across seven states, including Nebraska, Utah, and Minnesota, in April.
In Nebraska, some of the recently closed restaurants had been operating for over 40 years. They were managed by the same franchisee who shut down 27 locations in the spring, as reported by the Lincoln Journal Star.
On Long Island, New York, a closed Burger King is expected to be replaced by a McDonald’s, according to GreaterLongIsland.com. The company has not responded to requests for comment.
Joshua Kobza, CEO of Burger King’s parent company, Restaurant Brands International, stated in May that the chain planned to close between 300 and 400 locations this fiscal year. That figure is similar to the number of closures the brand experienced during the pandemic.
“There is a fair degree of uncertainty regarding exact numbers, and this will depend, to some extent, on the pace of recovery in the business, which we’ve already begun to see,” Kobza said at the time. He took over as CEO in March, succeeding longtime executive José Cil.
In September 2022, Burger King announced a $400 million revitalization plan aimed at modernizing 800 of its top-performing restaurants.
During its recent earnings call, the company revealed that foot traffic at its locations remained flat as it continued phasing out underperforming and outdated restaurants.
“We closed older and lower-performing locations to build a more modern system with stronger operators,” Kobza said.