Wendy's closing up to 6% of US locations in first half of 2026

Fast-food chain Wendy's will shutter 5% to 6% of its stores nationwide in the first half of 2026 as part of an ongoing downsizing plan. Interim CEO Ken Cook first told investors in a Nov. 7 quarterly earnings call that the company would be closing a "mid single-digit percentage" of its nearly 6,000 locations nationwide. On a Feb. 13 earnings call, Cook said the company had already closed 28 restaurants in the last quarter of 2025 as part of a planned 5% to 6% reduction. Fast food chain Wendy's will shut ...