One Of America's Early Fast Food Giants Has Been Quietly Closing Locations Nationwide

If it feels like a strange number of fast food spots are closing right now, your intuition isn't wrong. While every year sees ups and downs for individual restaurants and fast food chains, the past few years have been particularly hard on the sector. Major sit-down chains like Red Lobster and TGI Fridays made national news for declaring bankruptcy, but lots of other companies have been quietly closing dozens of locations, even if the situation isn't as dire. Since the beginning of 2024, Wendy's has closed hundreds of locations, as has Jack-in-the-Box, and Subway has closed thousands of stores in the last decade. But one slightly under-the-radar story of struggle has been Arby's.

Founded in 1964 in Ohio, Arby's has been a mainstay of the American fast food scene ever since. While never the iconic, omnipresent force that rivals like McDonald's or Burger King are, it is still one of the 25 largest chains in the country, per QSR, and Arby's unique sandwich menu is unlike any other chain. But Arby's sales have been slumping, and NRN reported that it closed 48 restaurants in 2024. That's only a fraction of its over 3,300 locations, but the bleeding hasn't stopped this year. Store closures have been announced around Memphis, Atlanta, Jacksonville, Fresno, and more. The closed Arby's of 2025 range from Washington state to central Tennessee and south New Jersey, showing the chain's problems are not limited to a few regions or franchisees. But Arby's problems may just be a reflection of larger trends.

There does not appear to be something specifically wrong with Arby's that can be identified, and the closures appear to reflect an overall drop in fast food sales, which the chain wasn't strong enough to buck. While fast food sales have slumped across the board, sandwich chains like Arby's have been particularly hard hit, with overall sector sales dropping 3.25% in 2024, following a lackluster 2023. 

Sandwiches are struggling much more than other fast food concepts like burgers and pizza, which saw underwhelming but positive growth. And Arby's large chain sandwich rivals are struggling almost as much as it is. Arby's sales dropped 6.8% in 2024, per NRN, but Subway dropped 3.8% and Panera 5.1%. Part of the problem may be the rise of upstarts like Jersey Mike's and Mendocino Farms, which grew in 2024 and may be drawing customers away from older, more stale brands.

The larger reality is that these Arby's store closures are coming from the same issues the fast food sector has been dealing with for years. An Arby's franchisee that filed bankruptcy last year cited the rising costs of labor and supplies post-pandemic, which price rises couldn't cover. But those price increases are also pushing away customers across the industry, leading to the revenue drops so many companies are struggling with. It's a vexing downward spiral that Arby's and many other chains haven't been able to escape.