BIG Chain Restaurant Quietly Closes 100 Locations, Including Idaho
While we much rather dine at restaurants that are uniquely Idaho concepts, we’ll concede when family comes to town. When you’ve got toddlers in the family, sometimes you just have to go with a tried and true chain so you know there’s something on the menu that they’ll enjoy.
Way back in February, you could tell that 2024 wasn’t going to be kind to chain restaurants. Bloomin’ Brands, the parent company of Outback Steakhouse, announced they were cutting 41 underperforming locations. By the time that announcement was made public, Boise had already lost its Bonefish Grill, which is another one of the restaurants in the Bloom’ Brands portfolio.
The very same month, Restaurant Dive predicted that Denny’s was another brand on the struggle bus. Idaho wasn’t immune from their cuts. Newsweek reports that at least 13 Denny’s locations have closed in 2024. America’s Diner started the year with 11 locations in Idaho, but since January locations in Boise, Nampa, Meridian and Chubbuck have closed. The only remaining Denny’s in the Treasure Valley is in Caldwell.
Carl’s Jr. is a sort of cousin to Hardee’s which had quietly been closing locations across the country. While they weren’t in the headlines, they were doing the same thing in Idaho. The Garden City location, which will become a local Big Bun Drive-In, closed unceremoniously in August 2023. Their original Boise location on Broadway closed sometime this spring.
Red Lobster restaurant chain that made ALL the headlines by filing for bankruptcy. They abruptly closed more than 100 locations. Lewiston’s location didn’t make it. The good news? If you love endless shrimp, they’ve already exited bankruptcy with a new owner and CEO. The Boise and Coeur d'Alene locations made it.
MOD Pizza was in the news for cutting more than 27 locations across 10 states. The location in Twin Falls was one of those unlucky, under performing stores.
And now ANOTHER big chain has been caught quietly closing locations. Eat This, Not That reports that the largest barbecue chain in America closed nearly all of their restaurants earlier this year. A Dickey’s Barbeque Pit representative told the well known good blog that it was trying to “clean up” the chain. That included terminating franchise agreements with non-compliant locations.
After seeing that article, we did a little digging and found that there were Idaho locations involved in that cut. Everyone knew that the Eagle location closed and was replaced by Janet’s Cafe. The Nampa location vanished around the same time.
Now, it appears that the Garden City location on North Glenwood Street has bit the dust. So has the one on Overland in Meridian. While both locations are still listed on the chain’s website, their hours are listed as “CLOSED” all seven days of the week.
The Idaho Statesman reached out to the franchisee of the Star location who said his location is doing well and will continue operating as normal. He also told them that Dickey’s did offer him the opportunity to take over the other three Treasure Valley locations. He said no because the rent was too high.
KEEP READING: Businesses the Boise Area Lost in 2024
Gallery Credit: Michelle Heart
13 Big Brands That Are Closing Idaho Locations in 2024
Gallery Credit: Michelle Heart