Fast-food seafood chain closed over 900 stores, mounts comeback

Generally, a enterprise has to get smaller so as to develop, or a minimum of that is what executives, together with Wendy’s CFO Ken Prepare dinner, say once they clarify why they’re closing areas.

“We’re targeted on bettering restaurant-level economics, taking a tough take a look at underperforming eating places in our system from each the monetary and buyer expertise perspective and dealing with franchisees to enhance these, switch these to a different operator or probably closing them,” he stated in the course of the chain’s third-quarter earnings name.

Closing as much as 350 eating places, he stated, will enhance the financials of those who stay and depart franchise operators with money to spend money on their remaining areas.

Lengthy John Silver’s, an iconic fast-food chain like Wendy’s, has additionally been closing areas — dropping from over 1,000 models in 2015 to fewer than 500 presently, based mostly on the Shopper Edge 2026 Restaurant Outlook report.

At its peak, the chain operated greater than 1,400 eating places, based on Meals Republic.

The corporate’s Senior Vice President Tony Ellis, very like Prepare dinner, believes that the closures, a minimum of those over the previous three years, have really put the seafood chain in a powerful place to return to development.

Lengthy John Silver’s footprint has shrunk

Tony Ellis informed SeafoodSource that Lengthy John Silver’s has closed “roughly 110 to 120 areas over the previous three years.” He stated the corporate now operates 214 company-owned eating places and about 262 franchised models, which matches the entire on the corporate’s restaurant locator web page.

Lengthy John Silver’s Chief Advertising and marketing Officer Laura Ellis stated that not all the closures have been attributable to monetary efficiency.

“We wish our in-restaurant expertise to be as optimistic because the style of our meals, so we’ve spent a ton of time reworking our footprint,” she stated. “As you possibly can think about, our model has been round since 1969, so a few of our eating places have been in dire want of a facelift. This implies a few of these eating places are momentary closures, and a few are a departure from historic technique.”

Tony Ellis defined that almost 70 of the closures got here from the chain exiting co-branded areas with Taco Bell, KFC, and A&W, which he stated aligns with “broader trade pattern of main chains more and more preferring single-brand areas.”

The chain additionally survived a 1998 Chapter 11 chapter submitting.

“The corporate listed liabilities of $457.3 million and belongings of $329.1 million within the Chapter 11 submitting late Monday in U.S. Chapter Courtroom in Delaware,” the Tampa Instances reported.

That submitting was attributable to its 1989 leveraged buyout, which saddled the corporate with debt.

Why has Lengthy John Silver’s shrunk?

QSR Professional printed an in depth evaluation of Lengthy John Silver’s decline in March.

“There is not any single villain on this story. What’s taking place to Lengthy John Silver’s is structural, compounding, and instructive for anybody who operates or considers investing in legacy QSR franchises,” the web site reported.

Meals Prices, QSR Professional famous, created a systemic downside for the chain.

Extra Eating places:

“Meals prices are the primary downside. Commodity beef costs are unstable, however seafood is in one other class completely. Wild-caught fish provides are topic to fishing quotas, climate occasions, ocean temperature shifts, and worldwide commerce dynamics,” it shared.

Not with the ability to pivot to hen or beef throughout occasions when fish costs are excessive additionally created distinctive challenges for the chain.

“McDonald’s can quietly shift its beef mix when spot costs spike. There is not any equal transfer accessible when your complete model promise is fish,” QSR Professional added.

The seafood model additionally has a visitors sample downside.

“Seafood has traditionally been a dinner-leaning daypart, with a secondary spike throughout Lent. That leaves monumental breakfast and lunch capability sitting idle, a structural waste that commodity chains like McDonald’s or Taco Bell resolve by spanning all three dayparts. Lengthy John Silver’s has by no means cracked breakfast at scale,” the commerce publication shared.

Lengthy John Silver’s has refreshed a few of its eating places.Shutterstock

Eating places are struggling broadly

“The restaurant area has been robust. There’s lots of competitors, so it’s a really saturated market to start with,” Black Field Chief Insights Officer Victor Fernandez informed Restaurant Dive.

It is various adverse headwinds impacting companies on the similar time, Ari Felhandler, an fairness analyst protecting the patron sector at Morningstar, stated to Restaurant Dive.

“Along with ballooning meals and labor prices, operators are coping with increased insurance coverage premiums, additional straining their funds, Felhandler added. “On the similar time, the trade has remained stubbornly reliant on worth promotions, additional squeezing margins.”

Lengthy John Silver’s is in the course of a comeback

“The excellent news is that we aren’t struggling,” Laura Ellis informed SeafoodSource.

She defined that the corporate simply celebrated 16 consecutive quarters of comparable gross sales development, marking a milestone “we’re very pleased with as a model.”

Tony Ellis added that the chain’s gross sales elevated from roughly $400 million on the finish of 2022 to just about $430 million on the finish of 2025.

4 Oaks Companions bought Lengthy John Silver’s in 2022, based on Franchise Instances.

“4 Oaks Companions has its sights set on worldwide enlargement, with a selected deal with the Southeast Asian market. It has repeatedly operated a number of areas in Singapore since 1983, and lately, has opened new areas in Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia,” based on Meals Republic.

Laura Ellis, who spent eight years at Yum Manufacturers, thinks the model has home development potential as properly.

“Generally you’re employed for a model that’s nostalgic and other people say, ‘I used to like that, however I don’t prefer it anymore.’ Once I inform individuals I work for Lengthy John Silver’s, that’s not the response I get in any respect. It’s, ‘I like Lengthy John Silver’s. I didn’t know there was one close by me anymore,’” she informed Franchise Instances.

“We’re actually driving consciousness and reminding those who we’re right here and opening new areas.”

Associated: 102-year-old grocery store chain quietly shut down

This story was initially printed by TheStreet on Jun 21, 2026, the place it first appeared within the Eating places part. Add TheStreet as a Most well-liked Supply by clicking right here.

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