Popular pasta chain closes 20 more restaurants

Even the biggest, astir palmy edifice chains adjacent locations regularly.

Starbucks, for example, closes hundreds of locations each fewer years. That's due to the fact that populations shift, rents increase, and different factors alteration that marque a once-viable edifice nary longer profitable.

The java chain, for example, utilized to run a determination successful a Westin edifice adjacent my erstwhile leader successful Alexandria, Virginia. During the Covid pandemic, the institution moved to a work-from-home model, and the full gathering emptied implicit the adjacent fewer years.

Starbucks closed that determination erstwhile its lease expired due to the fact that overmuch of its erstwhile lawsuit basal nary longer walked by the store. It was a strategical determination that made the wide institution healthier.

That benignant of store closure is not a remark connected the wide wellness of the company. It's a prime made due to the fact that that peculiar Starbucks store mislaid a ample portion of its imaginable audience, and the concatenation already operates different locations successful the country that service residential neighborhoods not impacted by the work-from-home change.

Noodles and Company has been revamping its business. That has included adding worth offerings to its menu, leaning into limited-time offers (LTOs), and closing underperforming stores.

Noodles & Company shrinks its mode to wellness

After closing 42 restaurants successful 2025, according to Restaurant Business, Noodles and Company continued to strategically pare down its portfolio successful the archetypal 4th of 2026.

"In the archetypal quarter, we closed 20 company-owned restaurants and 3 franchise restaurants," CFO Michael Hynes said during Noodles and Company's first-quarter net call.

Those closures were designed to amended the wide wellness of the business.

"The 20 company-owned restaurants were closed arsenic portion of our edifice portfolio optimization project, which continues to output a important transportation of income to adjacent locations fixed our precocious premix of off-premise sales, contributing to betterment successful our comp income and wide profitability," helium added.

More Restaurants 

• 30 twelvemonth aged edifice has closed each restaurants

• After bankruptcy, Hooters closes restaurants, fights for survival

• Iconic Las Vegas Strip edifice closes without warning

Noodles and Company isn't unsocial successful pursuing this playbook. Closing locations has besides been a large portion of Red Lobster's turnaround plans.

"Red Lobster’s propulsion mirrors a broader inclination crossed U.S. casual dining, wherever brands similar Olive Garden, Chili’s, and Applebee’s person pared backmost their menus and streamlined operations. Industry analysts accidental smaller footprints and simpler menus tin assistance operators negociate higher labour and seafood costs portion appealing to younger, value-conscious diners," Fortune reported.