No, Wendy’s isn’t closing all of its locations

A rumor that is spreading on social media in November claims Wendy’s, a popular fast food restaurant chain, is permanently closing all of its locations.  

Several VERIFY readers texted us to ask whether the online claims are true. 

THE QUESTION

Is Wendy’s closing all of its locations?

THE SOURCES

• Wendy’s spokesperson
• Flynn Restaurant Group, operator of more than 190 Wendy’s restaurants in the U.S.
• An article on za.investing.com

THE ANSWER

No, Wendy’s is not closing all of its locations.

WHAT WE FOUND

A spokesperson for Wendy’s told VERIFY the online claims about the fast food chain closing all of its restaurants are false. 

The rumor appears to have originated from Facebook ads that suggest Wendy’s is permanently closing all of its locations. The ads, captioned “Closing Time: All the Restaurant Chains Closing” or “Beloved Chains Closing Their Doors Soon,” feature photos of Wendy’s founder Dave Thomas. 

But these ads are misleading.

One of the ads links to a January 2023 article titled “Last Call: You May See Fewer of These Restaurant Chains in 2023” on a website called za.investing.com. 

The article lists more than 100 restaurant chains that it says could be closing some locations. But it doesn’t say that Wendy’s is permanently closing all of its restaurants, as the Facebook ads appear to imply. 

Here’s what the article says about Wendy’s:

“Wendy’s itself is not going out of business, but the restaurant’s biggest franchisee operator, NPC International, sadly is. NPC International operates 385 Wendy’s in the US, meaning that the future of those stores is now in serious jeopardy. NPC also operates over 1,225 Pizza Huts in America.

NPC filed for Chapter 11 in July of 2020, citing $903 million in debt.

It is true that NPC International operated Wendy’s restaurants and filed for bankruptcy in July 2020. But the article does not have the most up-to-date information about Wendy’s restaurants. 

NPC International announced in a March 2021 press release that it had sold its Wendy’s restaurants to Flynn Restaurant Group and existing franchisees. These restaurants would remain open under new ownership, the press release said. 

Flynn Restaurant Group, which currently operates more than 190 Wendy’s in the U.S., has not made any recent announcements suggesting all of the restaurants will close, either.

Wendy’s has opened 72 new restaurants in the third quarter of 2023, with 152 global restaurant openings this year as of late November, according to its spokesperson.

“We look forward to bringing more Wendy’s to more fans in more markets across the globe,” the spokesperson said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.