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Posted on 10/29/2026 10:24:47 AM PDT by Red Badger
Wendy’s could see up to 60 more restaurants closed across the United States through mid-November as one of its largest franchise operators battles bankruptcy, according to USA Today.
Meritage Hospitality Group, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on September 17, has already shuttered 33 restaurants since entering bankruptcy proceedings and could reportedly shut down dozens more by November 13.
Meritage previously closed 60 underperforming locations before filing for bankruptcy. Reports differ on whether the 33 closures since the filing count toward the up-to-60 figure, so the total could reach roughly 120 or more.
The restaurant company operated 314 Wendy’s restaurants across 15 states when it filed for bankruptcy.
Meritage reported a $31.5 million net loss in 2025, followed by another $23.1 million loss during the first half of 2026, according to QSR Magazine.
The franchisee blamed weak sales, aggressive discounting and what it described as less effective Wendy’s marketing under the chain’s previous leadership. The financial pressures have been compounded by stubbornly high beef prices, which the Trump administration has struggled to bring down despite aggressive efforts to boost imports.
In February, President Donald Trump authorized an additional 80,000 metric tons of tariff-free beef imports from Argentina. Moreover, the White House in August allowed another 300,000 metric tons of foreign beef trimmings into the country at reduced tariff rates in hopes of lowering hamburger prices. However, the measures have delivered little relief so far. Ground beef prices have climbed over 22% since Trump returned to office.
Meritage’s bankruptcy has also triggered a bitter financial dispute between the restaurant company and Wendy’s, with the fast-food chain claiming the operator owes approximately $147 million in royalties, fees and other contractual charges.
The latest development has only made Wendy’s already difficult few years go from bad to worse. The burger chain has suffered over 300 net restaurant closures since 2024, including 245 during the first half of 2026, according to NRN.
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All of the SmashBurgers around my area have closed. I thought the entire chain was gone.
Dave Thomas must be crying.
He built a great business and others just drove it into the ground.
I remember going there a few years ago and asking for a small Frosty and getting the equivalent of a small Dixie cup! I was shocked.
My Japanese stepdaughter favors Wendy’s. They have an affiliated company in Japan (Wendy’s First Kitchen) but she says it’s not nearly as good as in the US. Of course she said this three years ago when here last.
Or the locals can’t afford to eat out.
Or don’t think there’s value for money.
I rarely see lines at any of our fast food joints anymore, including at peak times.
Makes you wonder how Five Guys stays open as their prices are pretty high. But good burgers (to me).
“He built a great business and others just drove it into the ground.”
Yes. And, IIRC, when he died his daughter Wendy took over. People who worked with her said he was a bitch on wheels. That was so long ago that her personality probably had nothing to do with the current failure, but I thought it was interesting. Dave T seemed like a real sweetheart, and she wasn’t. (Most likely a spoiled brat.)
Wendy’s has been trying the self-serve kiosks in a few of their stores. I tried the one near me, created the order, paid with my bank card, and the order glitched and was lost. The black b**ch manager said she couldn’t do anything about it. I was out the money, until I contested the charge to my bank.
Won’t ever go back.
There’s a Wendy’s close to me and I love them mainly because you could substitute a baked potato for fries. They recently stopped allowing that so I stopped going.
I recommend his autobiography. His stories about Harland Sanders are great.
A good burger needs some seasoning as it cooks. At the very least a little salt and pepper. Wendy’s for some reason doesn’t season their burgers and they come out tasting very bland. I’ve asked them to salt and pepper as they cook it and they’ve refused to. They just gave me some salt and pepper in little packages. The burgers could be fairly good but since they won’t season them they aren’t.
Beef prices have to be hurting traffic. Smart move would be to branch out to chicken, test new recipes, launch aggressive marketing promotions.
Beef prices have to be hurting traffic. Smart move would be to branch out to chicken, test new recipes, launch aggressive marketing promotions.
Here in SW Pennsylvania there is a Wendys in a small town next to me. It is always busy and a pain in the a$$ to get out of the parking lot.
Never liked Wendy’s.
There is a Whataburger that is 2.5 miles away, and that's where I go.
-PJ
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