Since October 2023, reports have circulated on social media about fast food chain Wendy’s allegedly planning to close its stores across the United States. Rumors began to circulate after advertisements featuring a photograph of the company’s founder, Dave Thomas, claimed it was one of “25+ big chain restaurants” that were “closing their locations.” The two sponsored ads appeared on Instagram and Facebook.
Dave Thomas founded the burger chain in Columbus, Ohio, in 1969. He rose to prominence after appearing in a series of amusing TV commercials in the 1990s. In just 13 years, he appeared in over 800 commercials, according to his biography on the franchise’s website.
Wendy’s was the world’s third-largest hamburger fast-food chain as of December 2018, with 6,711 locations worldwide, 92% of which were in the United States.
Two social media advertisements were running, linking to articles from investing.com and sportsbonanza.com. According to an archived copy of the article on Investing.com titled “Last Call: You May See Fewer of These Restaurant Chains in 2023,” the restaurant chain is 44 of 123 that are suffering. Other businesses on the list included Pizza Hut, IHOP, and McDonald’s.
It asserted that Wendy’s was not going out of business, but that its largest franchise operator, NPC International, was. According to the article, NPC operates 385 fast-food restaurants in the United States. As a result of the company’s closure, the future of 385 restaurants remained uncertain.
“NPC filed for Chapter 11 in July of 2020, citing $903 million in debt. NPC tried to sell off 900 Pizza Huts to Yum! Brands to pay off some of the debt, but Yum! Brands backed out of the deal,” it claimed.
According to The Business Journals, NPC International (renamed NPC Quality Burgers Inc. in Reuters) sold half of its stores to Flynn Restaurant Group after obtaining judicial approval in 2021. The remaining stores were brought in by the restaurant’s existing franchisees.
The second article on sportsbonanza.com, “Classic Fast Food Restaurants That Are Gone for Good,” did not include Wendy’s. The advertisement still featured Dave Thomas’ photo, which caused confusion. Furthermore, the article was published in October 2020, making both stories outdated.
According to Nation’s Restaurant News, on Tuesday, November 14, 2023, Starboard Group, a Florida-based company that operated 70 of the fast food chain’s stores, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in an Orlando court. They were in charge of the company’s stores in Alabama, Florida, Illinois, and Wisconsin.
This year, several Quick-Service Restaurant (QSR) companies, including a Hardee franchise and Premier Kings Inc., which ran Burger King, filed for Chapter 11.