But, the company says, it plans to open more restaurants in other locations.
Wendy's has announced it will close 140 of its restaurants.
"We want to further improve our restaurant footprint and overall system health," Wendy's president and CEO Kirk Tanner said while announcing the news on Oct. 31 during its third-quarter earnings call.
"Following this review, I have made the strategic decision to close additional restaurants this year that are outdated and located in underperforming trade areas. These restaurants have AUVs (average unit volumes) of approximately $1.1 million and operating margins well below the system average."
Tanner, however, expects the closures to be neutralized by opening more storefronts in different places.
"We have designed this initiative to ensure that over time, many of these units will be replaced by new restaurants at better locations with significantly improved sales and profitability," he said.
"We anticipate that total closures in 2024, including additional closures in the fourth quarter will be offset by new restaurant openings this year, leaving our net unit growth approximately flat compared to the prior year."
Wendy's, which has continued to enhance its menu with a new Salted Caramel Frosty and a Krabby Patty Kollab Meal (in honor of the 25th anniversary of "SpongeBob SquarePants"), has also welcomed new locations into the fold.
"In addition, we opened 64 new Wendy's restaurants globally during the third quarter and remain on track to meet our goal of 250 to 300 openings for the full year," Tanner said.
"On our Q3 earnings call yesterday, we shared that the Wendy's system is incredibly healthy, and we remain on track to meet our goal of 250-300 new restaurant openings for the year," a Wendy's spokesperson told TODAY.com via email.
"After our strategic review, we now expect a similar number of closures as openings, so we expect net unit growth in 2024 to be roughly flat. As a 55-year-old brand with more than 7,100 restaurants across the globe, closures are a normal activity to maintain a healthy system. By the end of this year, we will have opened more than 500 new restaurants over the last two years and have the confidence we will deliver elevated growth in 2025 and the years to come."
Wendy's did not provide a list of which locations will close.
The closures follow a wave of other national restaurant chains shuttering locations. Late last month, Denny's announced it will close 150 of its stores, while 7-Eleven also announced plans to close hundreds of locations throughout the U.S. and Canada. Red Lobster also closed 23 restaurants in August, after closing 83 locations earlier this year, as part of its bankruptcy proceedings.
In June, Hooters closed an unspecified number of restaurants. In May, Dine Brands Global, which owns Applebee's, revealed it would close up to 35 of its restaurants.
In March, Bloomin' Brands announced it was closing 41 of its restaurants in its portfolio, including Outback, Carrabba's and Bonefish Grill locations. In January, TGI Fridays announced it would also shut down three dozen "underperforming" stores.