Jonathan Maze | Nation’s Restaurant News | November 10th, 2017
Chains are slowing growth and cutting units in 2017 amid weak sales and traffic.
After years of seemingly unstoppable growth, the restaurant industry has stepped on the brakes in 2017.
Several chains in their latest earnings calls have said they plan on slowing unit growth or stopping it altogether amid weak same-store sales and traffic, as well as concerns over rising construction and real estate costs.
Many others, meanwhile, are closing units, as those sales and traffic challenges create underperforming locations that lose money and hurt overall profitability.
Here’s a look at the chains that are closing locations or slowing their growth this year or next.