Sudden Wendy’s Closures Have Hit Illinois Harder Than Most States

It used to be that having a fast food franchise was like having a license to print money. Sadly, that's not the case anymore as Illinois has been hit harder than nearly any other state when it comes to the number of Wendy's restaurants that have suddenly closed their doors.

In a report just dropped a few days ago, Fast Company broke down the list of 200 Wendy's locations that have closed just since the end of September of last year. By their math which is based on how many restaurants Wendy's had in each state at that time compared to the current situation, they learned that Illinois has lost 18 Wendy's restaurants just in the past few months. That means that Illinois is 3rd in America for the state that has lost the most restaurants in that franchise in a relatively short time. Only Florida and Texas have lost more Wendy's than Illinois.

Why is Wendy's closing Illinois restaurants?

The report says that Wendy's is only closing underperforming locations. The official Wendy's store locator says the brand still has 174 Illinois restaurants. I've done some digging, but there are no lists of the exact locations which have shut their doors in Illinois since last September, but the number is revealed by the total number of Wendy's in Illinois in September 2025 compared to now.

Every Illinois location is unique and there are many reasons why a franchisee may decide to close a restaurant. Inflation and staffing issues have plagued many restaurants in the past 6 years and Illinois eateries are not immune. It's possible that more Wendy's in Illinois will close as the chain continues to review how each location is doing. Let's hope the future sees more addition in Illinois instead of subtraction.