Wendy’s has been closing restaurant locations under its Project Fresh program since 2025 when it shut down 28 locations.
The burger chain has two locations about a 10-minute drive from me, which I hope will remain open for my guilty pleasure of a cup of chili. But there are no guarantees in the competitive and volatile restaurant sector.
Fast-food restaurants seem to disappear often without any notice.
Wendy’s franchisee Meritage Hospitality Group Inc. will close 20 to 60 restaurant locations.jetcityimage / Getty Images
Meritage Hospitality closing more Wendy’s
Major Wendy’s franchisee Meritage Hospitality Group Inc., which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September 2026, has won court approval to reject the leases and franchise agreements of up to 60 more locations to allow it to close the restaurants by Nov. 13, according to court papers.
Meritage Hospitality Group, which operated over 350 Wendy’s restaurants in 15 states before filing for bankruptcy, won approval from Judge James W. Boyd of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Michigan on Oct. 23 to reject the unexpired leases and franchise agreements of at least 20 restaurants but no more than 60 that are EBITDA negative or deemed to have negative value.
Under the order, the debtor would close up to 60 restaurants after obtaining specific orders for the locations on Oct. 30, Nov. 6, or Nov. 13, as required by its lender City National Bank in its cash collateral use order.
Meritage Hospitality allegedly defaulted on a $150 million credit facility held by City National Bank on Sept. 29, 2025, according to a notice of default. The bank claimed Meritage was in default for allegedly failing to maintain liquidity covenants, failing to pay obligations as they become due, and for closing a Georgia location, according to a statement.
The debtor subsequently obtained a forbearance agreement for its credit facility before filing for bankruptcy, according to its website.
Franchisee has closed 93 locations
Meritage has closed about 93 Wendy’s locations, including 60 restaurants before filing its petition and another 33 after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The debtor owed its franchisor, Quality Is Our Recipe LLC, also known as Wendy’s International, over $24.9 million on deferred franchisor fees, according to its petition.
The franchisor also sent Meritage a notice of event of default on Oct. 24, 2025, which the franchisee cured and continued operating its restaurants before filing its petition.
Trian Fund proposes acquisition
The Wendy’s Company on Oct. 28 received an unsolicited, non-binding proposal from an investor group consisting of Trian Fund Management L.P., Flynn Group LP, BlueFive Capital and Sixth Street Capital, to purchase all outstanding shares of the company’s common stock not owned by the investor group for $7.35 per share in cash, which values Wendy’s at $1.4 billion, the company said in a statement.
The Wendy’s Board of Directors had formed a committee of independent directors not affiliated with the investor group to investigate any proposal from Trian Fund after the investor filed an SEC Schedule 13D/A revealing it was seeking an acquisition of the burger chain, according to the statement.
The fast-food chain owner said there was no assurance that it would pursue any transaction with the investor group. The company said it will not comment on further developments on the proposal until further disclosure is appropriate or necessary.
Chain has over 7,000 locations
Wendy’s, which operates 5,573 locations in the U.S. and 460 in Canada according to its website on Oct. 28, closed 28 locations under the Project Fresh program in 2025. The burger chain planned to close 5%-6% of its U.S. restaurant locations, or about 292 to 350 underperforming units, in 2026, according to its fourth quarter earnings call reported by The Motley Fool.
The Columbus, Ohio-based burger chain was founded in 1969 by Dave Thomas and operates over 7,000 locations worldwide, according to its website.
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