A Popular Fast Food Chain In Idaho Could Disappear Forever

The world continues to change right before our eyes and we're seeing a ton of changes take place in the food industry.

Are Major Food Chains Operating In Idaho In Danger?

The number of big chain businesses closing in 2024 continues to grow and in Idaho, we're seeing a lot of major names disappear from the Treasure Valley.

We've seen restaurants like Red Lobster and Denny's face financial troubles that required some mandatory closures. Now, a popular burger chain is the latest major company being forced to close locations around the country.

Are We Witnessing The End Of Wendy's?

That's right, Wendy's is looking to close several locations across the country. Apparently, they're also going to open several new "updated" locations as well.

"Overall, the Wendy's system is incredibly healthy ... and we want to further improve our restaurant footprint and overall system health," CEO Kirk Tanner said in on an earnings call.

"In order to do so, we conducted a robust review of individual restaurants to ensure they meet our expectations for sales, have the profitability to fuel growth, and deliver the Wendy's brand experience for customers. Following this review, I have made the strategic decision to close additional restaurants this year that are outdated and located in underperforming trade areas."

One of the key numbers that was discussed on their earnings call was the Average Unit Volume or AUV. Ironically another popular fast food chain in Jack in the Box explains what AUV is on the franchising page of their website:

In franchising, average unit volume (AUV) is calculated by dividing the total annual sales of company-owned and/or franchised units divided by the number of company-owned and/or franchised units.

For the folks over at Wendy's, they've been keeping an eye on the restaurants that are underperforming. Wendy's CEO Kirk Tanner says one of the key metrics they're looking at when closing locations is AUV.

"They have AUVs of about $1 million dollars. Their margin is under the average of the business," Tanner said in the earnings call.

"And they're just in locations that don't build our brands. And so those are the opportunities that we've taken a look at to truly make our system much stronger."

Based on our count, there are approximately twelve Wendy's locations in the Treasure Valley. According to a report from CNN, Wendy's is looking to close about 140 total locations across the country in the next few months.

Whether or not those locations will include Idaho remains to be seen.