Key Takeaways
- Wendy’s franchisee Meritage Hospitality Group is seeking bankruptcy court approval to close 20 to 60 underperforming restaurants by November 13.
- Meritage has already shuttered about 93 locations since late 2025, and closing all 60 proposed stores would push the total to roughly 153.
- The Michigan-based operator ran 314 Wendy’s restaurants when it filed for Chapter 11 in September, reflecting wider pressure on fast-food franchisees from rising costs and shifting consumer spending.
Wendy’s closures keep piling up, and one of the fast-food giant's biggest franchisees is preparing to put dozens more locations on the chopping block.
Michigan-based Meritage Hospitality Group, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September, is seeking court approval to close as many as 60 additional Wendy's restaurants over the next several weeks. The company has already shuttered approximately 93 locations since late 2025, meaning the latest round could bring its total closures to more than 150 restaurants.
According to court documents obtained by Fast Company, Meritage wants permission to close at least 20 and potentially as many as 60 underperforming restaurants by November 13. The company has not yet identified which locations will be affected.
The proposed shutdowns would mark another major blow to a franchisee that operated 314 Wendy's restaurants when it entered bankruptcy on September 17.
Meritage had already closed approximately 60 struggling locations beginning in late 2025, before shuttering another 33 restaurants across nine states following its Chapter 11 filing.
Those 33 closures weren't entirely voluntary. According to bankruptcy documents, Meritage's lenders required the company to shut down the underperforming restaurants as a condition of allowing it to continue using cash during its restructuring.
Now, the franchisee is looking to make even deeper cuts.
If the bankruptcy court approves all 60 proposed closures, Meritage will have shut down approximately 153 Wendy's restaurants since its initial round of closures began.
Of those 153 potential closures, 93 would have occurred after the bankruptcy filing, representing nearly 30% of the 314-store portfolio Meritage reported in September.
The latest development adds to a difficult stretch for the fast-food industry, where major franchise operators have struggled to keep restaurants profitable amid rising expenses and changing customer spending habits.
Wendy's is hardly the only recognizable name dealing with franchise bankruptcies this year. Popeyes franchisee Sailormen Inc. filed for Chapter 11 in January with approximately $130 million in debt, triggering restaurant closures and asset sales across Florida and Georgia.
