America, are restaurants and businesses closing down?

[-]

notthegoatseguy@reddit

Restaurants are a tough business even in prosperous times.

We have restaurants ranging from absolutely packed and reservations are 6 months out to deserted and struggling to hang on.

[-]

Maybe in your area. It’s been popular in mine since at least the 90s and is going even stronger today. We have tons of boba places with a bunch more opening all the time, and some of them have a 30+ min wait even with how saturated the market is.

[-]

onyxrose81@reddit

I live in Houston so bubble tea has been here for a very long time.

[-]

CB_Chuckles@reddit

Earlier than that, I’d say, but then my folks lived in an Asian dominant community for decades.

[-]

beenoc@reddit

I had never even heard of bubble tea until like 2017, and looking on Google, I can't find a single bubble tea shop that even existed in NC before 2018. I'm sure there was one or two, but it was nowhere even near peaking, let alone having peaked almost a decade beforehand.

[-]

Proof-Emergency-5441@reddit

I live in the boonies and it was a thing in like 2000.

[-]

Asleep-Assistant-269@reddit

I suspect that was a random uncommon thing. I live in one of the 10 biggest cities in the US and I've always been into food culture and checking out new stuff, etc. The first time I'd ever heard of it was probably 2010 or so. First time I had it was in one of my cities Asian communities around 2012 or 2013. First time I saw it away from predominantly Asian areas was probably like 2019.

My daughter got obsessed with it about 3 years ago and at that time when I mentioned it to others, "what's boba tea?" was a very common response. Now it's pretty ubiquitous. Even our regular Chinese restaurant just added it.

[-]

beenoc@reddit

Maybe in California. I can 100% promise you that there was nowhere in North Carolina you could find boba tea (except for maybe like 1 or 2 mom and pop places in Charlotte or something) before the late 2010s.

[-]

Proof-Emergency-5441@reddit

What part of boonies made you thinn California? That's not boonies. Middle of nowhere Midwest.

[-]

ChuushaHime@reddit

Also in NC (I live in Raleigh) and after first having (and loving!) bubble tea in Portland OR in like 2006, I wasn't able to find it again for a decade or more. Up until like 2018/2019 the only place you could get bubble tea in the whole Triangle metro area was the cafe counter at the Asian supermarket. it came in like 3 flavors and was more like a milkshake with gloopy tapioca pearls than the elaborate customizable drinks of the 2020s. I'm riding the current bubble-tea-bubble high like there's no tomorrow.

[-]

somecow@reddit

They’re just as common as vape shops here. Drive thru coffee shops too. How do these places stay alive, and proliferate faster than rabbits?

[-]

shelwood46@reddit

At one point a local shopping center had two vape shops, about 100 feet apart. I assume either tax shelter or a way to get your 20-something son out of the house and working for a while.

[-]

czarfalcon@reddit

Cheap rent in strip malls, high margins, and low labor costs? That’s gotta be the combo.

[-]

JennItalia269@reddit

Feels like it did California from when I lived there but it’s still a thing here.

[-]

SnooPineapples280@reddit

Depends where you are. There’s a boba shop every other block where I am

[-]

TheDizzleDazzle@reddit

Not really, maybe in very specific areas. But overall, it's shot up in popularity into the 2020s. One of the main Boba places in my hometown of \~200k went from 1-2 locations to 6 and now franchising in like 5 years. Yelp says Boba places have increased by 50% in recent years.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/art-of-boba-exploring-bubble-teas-growing-popularity/

[-]

dragon-queen@reddit

I would say in my area it’s peaking now. It’s been around in my area for maybe 10-15 years at this point, but there’s a lot more now than there’s ever been.

[-]

dulcetsloth@reddit

Cupcakes and frozen yogurt shops are good examples of bubble trends too.

[-]

National-Pressure202@reddit

If froyo could make a comeback… that’d be great… i mean… not the healthiest but i’d be happy

[-]

onyxrose81@reddit

I liked froyo because I can't eat a lot of ice cream (lactose intolerant like a mf).

[-]

GOTaSMALL1@reddit

I’m pretty sure it made a comeback. My Gen Z nieces and nephews drag us to that shit all the time. They’re pretty much all over the place… again.

[-]

notthegoatseguy@reddit

Remember when all of our moms took us to TCBY because it was healthy? And then you got to load that shit up with chocolate sauce and MnMs to negate any supposed health benefits!

[-]

unknowingbiped@reddit

Trans Continental Ballistic Yogurt? I'm but a lowly hick.

[-]

justhereforporn09876@reddit

It stands for This Could Break You. They never explained the name.

[-]

TooManyDraculas@reddit

Bubble tea was less a trend that came out of nowhere. Than a slow burn, perpetually popular category in certain markets. That got franchised to the gills and spread to places it doesn't work.

Bubble tea has been popular pretty much anywhere there's an East Asian community in the US for decades. And it's a reliable draw for visitors to any given "China town" situation.

But like poke and ramen that doesn't make sticking 2 in every strip mall a solid idea.

[-]

DoublePostedBroski@reddit

I’m hope there’s not a bubble tea bubble because I love bubble tea haha. But I imagine it’s going to be like the frozen yogurt trend of 2009-2015.

[-]

rawbface@reddit

No. At least not compared to the pandemic. So many things closed down in 2020-2021, that if it's happening now it's nothing by comparison.

[-]

AndroidWhale@reddit

RIP Raffe's Deli

[-]

Duderoy@reddit

Land of the Taylor Ham breakfast sandwich.

[-]

Major_Enthusiasm1099@reddit

Happens every day

[-]

TheJokersChild@reddit

Covid killed a lot of mom-n-pop places. As far as chains, what's closing them down is the franchisees that own them going bankrupt. They claim to face pressure from higher minimum wages in the states they operate in. Also DoorDash and UberEats have minimized the need for seating inside these places, so that's a lot of wasted square footage that owners and franchisees are paying for now, and all that extra overhead is squeezing profits.

[-]

lemonprincess23@reddit

Not as much as I used to see. I think after Covid hit the mom and pop shops and basically only the strongest were able to survive that essentially gave them the strength so nothing could stop them

[-]

jetf@reddit

i think this is highly dependent on your location and the economic conditions of that place

[-]

Inside-Try-394@reddit

Agreed. In Southern California which has become gentrified a lot of towns are half boarded up because no business can operate at a profit with such high property values and rents.

[-]

cheap_dates@reddit

In my rural town, COVID nailed the coffin shut on many privately owned restaurants. It seems that only the franchised/dollar menu fast food places are doing any real business but that is not my kind of food.

[-]

DeltaFlyer0525@reddit

Ours is the same. We have nothing but chains and franchises around here now. We do have one really fantastic Mexican mom and pop shop left, but they recently raised their prices a lot and we had to stop going so I don’t think they will be open much longer.

[-]

sharpshooter999@reddit

In my rural town, it's the opposite. The mom and pop diners are doing fine while McDonald's closed down and Subway is on it's last legs

[-]

scaredofmyownshadow@reddit

I live in a rural town / county and in the rare case that a privately owned restaurant or business shuts down, it’s usually just bought about new owners that open a new one. Other than McDonald’s and a few others, most franchised restaurants in my area shut down and are replaced by a different one, which only lasts a few years before shutting down, as well. A chipotle opened a year ago and while the buzz was big at first, I’ve noticed that their parking lot is almost always empty, day and night. They’ll be gone once their lease is up. However, you can spend 20 minutes waiting for a table at most family-owned restaurants most nights of the week. Also, there’s a few restaurants located a few blocks from the high school and some of them offer meal discounts for students during the school lunch hour / after school for a few hours so they have a steady flow of income from them during the week days.

[-]

scaredofmyownshadow@reddit

I live in a rural county town / county and in the rare case that a privately owned restaurant or business shuts down, it’s usually just bought out and a new one opens. Other than McDonald’s and a few others, most franchised restaurants in my area will shut down after a few years and are then replaced by a different one, which only lasts a few years before shutting down, as well. A Chipotle opened a year ago and while the buzz was big at first, I’ve noticed that their parking lot is almost always empty, day and night. They’ll be gone once their lease is up. In contrast, you can spend 20 minutes waiting for a table at most family-owned restaurants most nights of the week. There’s a few of those located near the high school and some of them offer discounted meal deals for students during the school lunch break / after school for a few hours so they have a steady flow of income from them during the week days. I think that only juniors and seniors are allowed to leave campus for lunch, but it must be profitable because they’ve been offering it for years and most of the restaurants have been open for decades.

[-]

Duderoy@reddit

Subway should have never had legs. Worst sandwiches ever.

[-]

EloquentRacer92@reddit

In my aunt’s rural town, there were no chain places in the first place. Take that COVID!

[-]

Winstonoil@reddit

You are very lucky. I wish that we had mom and Pop diners. We have restaurants run by hipsters with man buns and throat tattoos that force the “ dishie” to call them chef. They have a signature gravy with rosemary in it. That shit blows goats.

[-]

sharpshooter999@reddit

Yeah we got the stereotypical small town diners where the everyone working there is either teenager or has been there 40 years. Coffee options are regular or decaf

[-]

Winstonoil@reddit

That sounds like sheer bloody happiness. It sounds down to earth and honest. The food is probably pretty damn good.

[-]

Cavalcades11@reddit

Same experience here in CT. The mom and pop shops made a point of being actually neighborly during the pandemic. They gave out a ton of free food and tried to organize grocery runs for the home bound and such. They’re thriving.

[-]

urfriendflicka@reddit

I'm also in CT, and very few mom n pops in my town close (and the ones that do tend to be a quality or gross mismanagement situation). Not only are they more invested in the community, but the community is more invested in them.

During COVID, all the independent restaurants worked together not just to help those who needed it, but also provided meals for the front line workers, which garners support. Most of us in the community supported the independent businesses over the chains, bc McDonald's and Domino's will be fine, and honestly, if they're not, we won't miss them. But I'll miss John's pizza if he goes under and I gotta keep the diner in business cuz I can't lose their egg n cheese sandwiches. And being a town on the smaller size, we tend to know the owners of our favorite restaurants and they know us.

[-]

Saltpork545@reddit

For me it's a mix between both. McDonalds and DQ are still doing just fine but the local bar that serves good food, donut shop/bakery, family restaurant, chinese place, etc are all doing well and there's even a food truck outside tractor supply that's busy every time I go into town. It's also good. This is a town of about 5k, so not exactly a happening place but the food is surprisingly solid and I'm glad to have non-drive thru options.

[-]

let-it-rain-sunshine@reddit

Small miracles

[-]

cheap_dates@reddit

During lunch hour, the drive-thru traffic for our McDonald's, backs up into the street and closes off a lane! I have never eaten at that one.

[-]

Ronnoc527@reddit

Yeah, this old restaurant near me closed down. The only charge they had made in the last fifty years was that they stopped requiring the servers to wear roller skates. They still had that eighties carpet with the purple swirls.

They also basically gave away food from the kids menu. You could feed a hungry child for like $4 after tax.

[-]

arguix@reddit

I think you really will love this video

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Df_K7pIsfvg

also about a mural that will be replaced

[-]

shelwood46@reddit

There's a place in NJ I drive past that changed hands about 5 years ago, and now has a sign up saying they are under the old management. I suspect the new people didn't do well.

[-]

Polite_Bark@reddit

Where I am in the midwest the chains are struggling and the independents are flourishing. Mostly because the independents have better prices for the portions and higher quality food.

[-]

William6212@reddit (OP)

Same

[-]

cheap_dates@reddit

We lost the only seafood restaurant that we had, one independent BBQ restaurant, one sandwich place and one Middle Eastern restaurant. Again, only the name brand, fast food joints seem to be thriving but that is pretty much conveyor belt food as far as I am concerned.

[-]

CPLCraft@reddit

It should also be mentioned that a lot of chain restaurants, especially when they have gotten really shitty or the past decade or so, we’re quite likely purchased by private equity. They’ve been known to kill companies in very convoluted ways to make profit. Rip Joann.

[-]

Outside_Complaint755@reddit

The Red Lobster example. Red Lobster restaurants were on land owned by the corporation. Private Equity buys Red Lobster, then puts the entire debt of the bank loan for the purchase onto Red Lobster. Then it sells the land under all of the restaurants to a real estate holding firm, and charges all locations rent that is significantly higher than their previous building expenses. They were also forced into that unlimited shrimp deal because the private equity firm had a stake in some asian distributor that had a massive overstock of shrimp to offload.

[-]

Slight_Manufacturer6@reddit

No. Not around here. They keep opening more restaurants.

Sometimes one will close down and then another replaces it.

[-]

West_Guidance2167@reddit

Jezzz that is so highly dependent on where you live.

[-]

TheGabyDali@reddit

I do feel that during and after covid there was a wave of businesses that shut down. However, and my view might be a little bit skewed because now I'm a stay-at-home mom and have a lot more time to go out and explore, it seems like there are more businesses opening up. I hope they'll succeed because I definitely think we need some more locally owned businesses and less chains.

[-]

Eagle_Fang135@reddit

A number of chain restaurants are closing down. They were bought by private equity, drained of their assets, then left to fail with mounting debt.

It has happened with other businesses too.

I see videos of big well established companies going bankrupt for no reason except PE getting involved.

[-]

Top_Bet_4525@reddit

I think it depends on the area. Where I live chain restaurants like Applebee's, Chili's, ECT are shutting down left and right. I think people just can't afford to eat out anymore. Cost of living is just too much

[-]

ratchetcoutoure@reddit

Stores get closed down all the time in Atlanta, especially in F&B business, especially after Covid. But usually it always replaced with another one not so long after. The thing is, since money is tight, people are getting more selective on where they are spending their money to. We are just not gonna patronage restaurants that have high price tag but serves mid food and/or have poor service. So that's about it.

[-]

Sylent09@reddit

I'm in a growing area. 1300 residents in 1990 to over 66000 in more recent estimates. That being said, rent and property prices are ridiculously high. So many restaurants and other smaller shops kinda come and go quite frequently. It really sucks when you find a place with incredible food and two months later the property owner doubles or triples their rent and they have to close. And yes, that has happened on several occasions.

[-]

pinksparkleberry@reddit

The U.S. is a huge country. There are areas that have been losing business and population for decades and some that are growing. I will say, restaurants seem to have a life span and close, but new ones also open.

[-]

GreenBeanTM@reddit

I live in a village of less than 500 people. There’s a restaurant building on our Main Street that for years when I was a kid would open under one name, close down a couple of months-a year later, and then someone new would go “yea, this sounds like a good place to open a restaurant!” and then rinse and repeat until people finally realized that maybe you need to open a restaurant somewhere people actually go in order for it to work.

[-]

elenchusis@reddit

Here in Colorado we're losing craft breweries at an alarming rate. The ones that don't close are being sold off to larger operations. During the boom a lot of money was borrowed to expand, and then the sales didn't match expectations.

[-]

BallBroad41@reddit

my small family restaurant that weve had open since 2003
nobody but me, my husband and two of the main workers know the last day open is this saturday till around 1 or 2 pm.
I could go into a long message on why, how and blah but it tears your life apart and kills parts of you to work for 8 months without time off, having to cut your pay to largely 2$ an hour and working 10 hours a day or more. I will be soo happy ina few days but my small town had 6 restaurants / bars / food places last year after we close itl be down to 2.

[-]

-Moose_Soup-@reddit

I don't know if restaurants are a good metric to use if you are looking at business closures. In my experience, most restaurants don't make it very long. If you live in one area long enough you see dozens of restaurants open and close. It's a notoriously hard business.

[-]

Educational-Ad608@reddit

I live in a relatively high-rent part of Los Angeles, and I have noticed more and more empty business properties. Never really seemed to recover after Covid.

[-]

evergreengoth@reddit

Yeah, we're in a really bad recession and it's constant

[-]

deebville00@reddit

Depends on the city. Even depends on what part of what city sometimes.

[-]

EloquentRacer92@reddit

Eh, in my town stuff is mostly the same. Nothing much has happened in a couple years, I think the Argentinian place is fairly new though. Same with the British place. Subway closed down a few years back.

[-]

Alycion@reddit

Restaurants are always hard to keep open. Especially non chain ones.

I am in a year round tourist area though. That helps. The more residential areas, smaller places are closing at a normal rate. Just stoked that one of my favorite places from back home opened in my area. They are already busy and where they are isn’t even finished being built yet, the community surrounding it, that is. Same ownership as back home. They are shipping the crab meat in from back home. And I can finally get a real Maryland crab cake in this state that isn’t out of a food truck. Not knocking the food truck. They are from up there too. And their stuff is good.

[-]

Congregator@reddit

Local small businesses and unique obscure places? YES.

Small and cool little interesting ma and pa shops also cannot afford to pay a “living wage”…

So we generally support corporate franchises that do market research and data collections on mass amounts of people, and they do pay a living wage

[-]

TheKiddIncident@reddit

In the USA (at least in California where I live) restaurants seem to be doing fine. Yes, it's a tough business and restaurants fail regularly, but more spring up to take their place pretty quickly.

What's going away here is retail. The little shops you used to see on every main street are closing and not being replaced.

Even huge retail stalwarts like Sears and Toys R Us have failed. I don't see them coming back.

[-]

draizetrain@reddit

Yes, absolutely. We have a crazy liquor liability insurance law that is just killing off any small business that sells alcohol. Pretty much every company that would offer insurance has left the state

[-]

Saltwater_Heart@reddit

Not for my area. We have a ton opening up because my city is growing rapidly

[-]

RingGiver@reddit

There are restaurants closing down, but there always are restaurants closing down. Restaurants have always had a high failure rate, but I haven't noticed anything out of the ordinary.

[-]

ZeldaHylia@reddit

I live in Florida. Lots of everything being built. Nothing closing down.

[-]

wawa2022@reddit

Jose Andre’s just made a statement forecasting a wave of restaurants closing due to inflation. They just can’t make it work. And I live in a city with probably 8-10 José Andre’s restaurants

[-]

Poster_Nutbag207@reddit

Most restaurants close in the first six months…

[-]

Dazzling-Climate-318@reddit

Restaurants come and go where I live. Currently there are no traditional Italian Restaurants in my town, but there is a Hawaiian one, an Asian Fusion one, a Korean Barbecue, a Greek one, several Mexican ones, a lot of Pizza places and a lot of chains.

The problem here is a lack of labor willing to work at Restaurants at what they want to pay.

My daughter managed a wine bar in a neighboring town and has difficulty hiring and keeping wait staff at $14.00 per hour plus tips. She was getting $50,000 per year plus tips herself when she filled in the floor or the bar, which was very common and expected by the owner during peak hours. The place is only opened fully Wednesday through Saturday, 11am to 9pm, completely closed on Sunday and Monday and open only for by the bottle wine sales on Tuesday. They don’t have full meals due to a lack of staff, just a Chef and he’s great, but is Quebecois and as she’s the only one fluent in French on the staff and his English is limited it’s interesting, but that’s reality in a growing area with a limited population.

Back to our little city, many staff at restaurants drive in from adjacent Counties due to the higher pay here and we actually drive to those counties to eat in restaurants there because the rates are 1/3 to 1/2 lower at fine dining restaurants there.

[-]

Alternative_Knee@reddit

I think there are a number of reasons. Consumption habits, changes in cost structure etc.. Many unprofitable stores have been eliminated.

[-]

shelwood46@reddit

The failure rate for restaurants has long been around 80%. Restaurants closing down or changing hands has never been that unusual. I make the drive my place in the Poconos down through western NJ to visit my relatives in South Jersey, right across from Philadelphia, about once a month, and I haven't noticed any real uptick in closings. If anything, that area has had a lot of new builds and such, at least until 2024. I would not be surprised if there is a downturn soon, but it hasn't happened here yet.

[-]

magic592@reddit

In my town, many long term restaurants are closing (open 20 years or more ), due to

Economy Property Taxes Rents

[-]

forwardobserver90@reddit

Not in my area. Things are pretty good havent seen any major closures and even a few new places popping up.

[-]

CNB-1@reddit

I live near DC and yes, there are more closures and empty storefronts since Elon Musk and DOGE fired a huge chunk of the regional workforce.

[-]

FrequencyHigher@reddit

In Atlanta, there has been a rash of established restaurants closing recently. I believe that increased costs for restaurant owners is squeezing margins, and those restaurants that were not efficiently run are now operating at a deficit. It’s still possible to run a profitable restaurant, but now the savvy owners seem to be withstanding the increased costs of the last six years. You can’t just be a busy restaurant, you have to be a well-managed restaurant.

[-]

Senior-Cantaloupe-69@reddit

I live in the Phoenix area. Things are booming. Where I lived before- Seattle- not so much. Local governance matters

[-]

flashyzipp@reddit

Not at all

[-]

Acrobatic-Aerie-8603@reddit

Since covid, many older, family owned restaurants have been... Digging their way back to life. If they are still around.

Though, some famous diners and the shops in downtown locations tend to stay.

The "hole in the wall" places, are basically changing generationally. There are a lot of aspiring cooks still. So no shortage of new tries. Just new successes.

[-]

_Internet_Hugs_@reddit

Small businesses definitely are.

[-]

ITrCool@reddit

Depends on your locale. In my area, business is thriving and in fact new restaurants have opened in the past couple years and not all are franchised chain restaurants either.

We have like five major companies in my area and two have expanded their offices and hired more people. A nearby part of town has built a massive office park which has filled up to near-capacity, and the local outdoor shopping mall is at 95% capacity, with a couple more new stores opening soon.

[-]

CockroachVarious2761@reddit

I live in an area that's probably medium cost of living, and fairly conservative. As such, we tend to be less affected by economic downturns. When recessions hit, if you go to neighboring counties you can walk into restaurants anytime, but in the county I live you still have a wait in a lot of them. With that as context, I haven't seen an alarming rate of businesses closing. It may be more frequent than normal but nothing I'd say is alarming; and most of the time, something new opens to replace whatever has closed.

[-]

papercranium@reddit

Some always come and go, but all in all they're doing okay in my area! We always support our little local spots.

We did lose our local sewing machine/vacuum cleaner repair shop last year when the owner passed, and the cool little furniture consignment store is just another crappy vape place now. But overall, local businesses seem to be thriving. We work hard to take care of our mom and pop places around here.

[-]

ohgodimbleeding@reddit

In my rural town, restaurants keep popping up. Granted, they are chain restaurants, but I am happy to see the growth. Local business owners and government stymied the growth for a long time because it would cut into their market.

I haven't seen anything close down here.

[-]

Designer-Travel4785@reddit

Our area is rebuilding from the COVID closures. I think we have more restaurants than we did before. It's the industrial jobs that we are still lacking.

[-]

chayashida@reddit

I think it depends on the area. Downtown Los Angeles has problems with lots of restaurants closing. I think working remotely because of COVID, and then fewer people returning to the offices downtown have just cratered the restaurant industries there.

When I look up places to eat, I stop and think if I've been there since the pandemic. And money's a little tighter now, so we're not eating out as much. I suspect that hurts the restaurant industry too.

[-]

Ok-Understanding9244@reddit

yup not unexpected considering who runs the government

[-]

an_edgy_lemon@reddit

Really depends on the location. Parts of LA look particularly sad right now.

[-]

Ok-Understanding9244@reddit

yeah not unexpected considering who runs the government

[-]

jrhawk42@reddit

Pretty common here. Prices are rising and less people are going out. Anything that was just scraping by before is closing up shop.

[-]

Ok-Understanding9244@reddit

not unexpected considering who runs the government

[-]

LABELyourPHOTOS@reddit

People love to open up restaurants but they normally don't last long.

Key retail closures and corporate downsizing in 2026 include:

Dollar General: 611 stores.
Dollar Tree: 442 stores.
GameStop: Over 470 stores reported.
Alimentation Couche-Tard (Circle K): 342 stores.
Aldi: 225 stores.
7-Eleven: 198 stores (with some reports up to 645).
Five Below: 146 stores.
Carter's: Roughly 100 to 150 stores.
Macy's: 150 stores, including closures through 2026.
Kroger: 60 "unprofitable" stores.
Francesca's: Over 400 stores.
Pizza Hut: 250 stores (first half of 2026).
Wendy's: Estimated 300 stores.
Eddie Bauer: 175 stores.

[-]

originaljbw@reddit

Some of these are just underperforming stores in poor areas going away while the companies continue to open new locations.

[-]

LABELyourPHOTOS@reddit

So they are going to close them in poor towns/neighborhoods because they can't afford to shop there anymore?

Yeah. That adds up.

[-]

Ok-Understanding9244@reddit

Economics 101 class: it's very common for chain companies to build too many of their stores in a given geographic/demographic area then they cannibalize each other's customers. This mean eventually Corporate headquarters has to force some locations to close even if they had a decent customer base. It's just bad management.

[-]

Proof-Emergency-5441@reddit

TIL there are still GameStops open.

[-]

PureOrangeJuche@reddit

Who are you calling a cooch tard?

[-]

William6212@reddit (OP)

Yup same with uk but this year a lot are closing down big chains included and it’s becoming the norm

[-]

Ok-Understanding9244@reddit

not here in Florida, everything is growing, business is booming

[-]

Asparagus9000@reddit

Depends on the area. Some places things are closing and some places they're opening new ones. Both of those are happening within a half hour drive of me in different directions.

[-]

Ok_Salamander6797@reddit

No, the opposite

[-]

Traditional-Let9530@reddit

Yeah it’s happening but it’s less “everything is dying” and more a reshuffle, weak businesses are closing while others are opening, especially with rising costs and changing habits.

[-]

AppropriateDark5189@reddit

I think restaurants are failing at an average rate, about 20%. About half only last 5 years.

When covid happened, a lot of people became “entrepreneurs” so I would expect failure rate to be higher. If you map up timelines, you’ll see a trend.

People are more sensitive to it now I think. There’s also the thing that most small businesses mess up. Cash flow. Availability of cash to fund things is what causes the most issues. As well as having the ongoing revenue to be able to support cash needs.

[-]

chtrace@reddit

Restaurants are some of the riskiest business you can open. They have a very high failure rate. And many small businesses are in the same boat because of being under capitalized. Businesses fail in good times and in bad times.

[-]

Completely-Lost9@reddit

Restaurants are constantly closing and then someone else buys it and tries. The restaurant industry is incredibly difficult to have a profit in anyway.

I have noticed breweries shutting down more lately though

[-]

PastNefariousness188@reddit

The small town I grew up in just had their Hardee's and Pizza Hut close down at the same time-- the two oldest fast food places. Alabama.

[-]

DoubleResponsible276@reddit

Bar burrito?

[-]

Yeahboyeah@reddit

Some are. Restaurants with their ever increasing prices ask for a service charge on top of a tip. Even in states like mine where servers make the local min wage of $14.55 to $16.80 still ask for both. Grocery store prices increase by the week. Small businesses are struggling. But hey, our millionaire Epstein class are doing great.

[-]

Traditional_Entry183@reddit

Where I live, yes. Since 2020, about 50% of the chain restaurants in my area closed, as did almost all of the local ones I liked. We've also lost a number of stores. And this is despite the population apparently growing by over 10k people in the same time.

[-]

cyvaquero@reddit

Here in San Antonio we’ve seen a few closures, mostly non-chain places, and in some cases largechains have pulled out of the market.

Part of it is that people have been tightening their belts, cutting back on eating out has one of the one of the most visible effects of that. I’d also argue that the people are also a tired of the constant price increases while wages remain stagnant. While my wife and I are lucky, we also just don’t go out as much for that second reason - just have trouble spending what was premium prices for mediocre food.

[-]

Warr_Ainjal-6228@reddit

Yes, overpriced fast food is suffering for ther huberus. Its cheapper to go to a decent sit-down place.

[-]

Ok-Flight-1504@reddit

Yes. Restaurants especially seem to be going under at a much higher rate than usual.

[-]

WonderfulVariation93@reddit

I live half way between Baltimore and DC. I also work in banking. There is a definite increase in commercial lending and I have not seen many businesses closing down.

[-]

einsteinGO@reddit

I mean, in Los Angeles places are always opening and closing

A lot of businesses have closed where they are preparing for the Olympics - we were wedding dress shopping and my in laws remarked on how quiet Beverly Hills was along Wilshire

[-]

Commercial-Land-6806@reddit

I mean... probably? I dunno the city is big... I won't notice everything closing down.

I will say of the places I have noticed that have closed over the last... I dunno 5ish years? Something or someone moves in almost as quickly as the last place shuttered their doors.

[-]

Traditional_Trust418@reddit

Depends on where you are. More stuff is opening near me

[-]

Tommy_Wisseau_burner@reddit

Small business, especially restaurants, have a really high failure rate. Restaurants, in particular, make such low profitability margins. Many businesses are going to pop up and close shop

[-]

Reasonable_Wasabi124@reddit

I moved to NYC at the end of COVID. As you know, NYC got slammed by COVID, so a lot of businesses did close, but I have seen a lot of new businesses open, too.

[-]

lky830@reddit

I’d say it’s very dependent on the cost of living and general economic situation of any given area. Things in NYC aren’t going to be terribly comparable to a mid-small sized city in Texas, for instance.

I can only really tell you about the trends I see in my area. It’s a low cost of living, but high crime and poverty area with very little industry to support the workforce. I’ve been seeing lots of larger chain restaurants close down, but small places I’ve never heard of crop up in their place. About half seem to do okay and exist for a year or more, the other half are gone in under 6 months. Constant revolving door.

As for a years long trend, I can definitely tell you that Covid killed a lot of small local businesses here. The downtown nightlife scene in my city never recovered. A few successful bars moved out of downtown, or new ones outside of downtown popped up, but the city center is pretty much a ghost town now.

[-]

TokyoDrifblim@reddit

In Atlanta it has been really bad since COVID, nothing new that opens up seems to be able to stay open for more than a year. I even see places that are packed every night and then will close down 6 months later. It really is just because the landlords. They have so much money they would rather have empty storefronts then lower the price of rent and so they do. This is definitely happening in a number of cities, But even during the most prosperous of times restaurants have a hard time staying open and most of the time they are just barely keeping the lights on even when they're extremely successful

[-]

lisasimpsonfan@reddit

Restaurants come and go. Margins are usually so tight that a bad month can be hard to bounce back from for new one. Same goes for small businesses.

[-]

CFBCoachGuy@reddit

Restaurants are horrid businesses in general. About 17% of all restaurants that open in the U.S. don’t survive their first year, and barely half survive 5 years. The margins are minuscule. Given the higher prices, tariffs which disrupted everything, and rents ballooning, it’s not getting any better.

Also smaller restaurants (which used to be called “mom-and-pop” places) face competition from chains, which there are a shit ton of in the U.S. The chain places saw a huge post-COVID boom (really). So it’s only going to get worse for the local places.

[-]

MattieShoes@reddit

Restaurants close down constantly in most any economic environment. Turns out it's hard AF to make a successful restaurant.

[-]

HeyPurityItsMeAgain@reddit

No.

[-]

I_Am_Mandark_Hahaha@reddit

The UK economy is so centralized in London that anywhere outside of it, businesses will be struggling. GDP pet capita for London, 71k gbp vs 39k for the UK average.

The US is not as centralized as the UK so the number of businesses closing down will vary depending on the metro area.

[-]

pikkdogs@reddit

I don't believe they are in relation to the norm. Where I am we do have things open and close often. That's still happening, but it is normal.

I wouldn't say anything above the average is happening.

[-]

mightknowbackback@reddit

I’m in New Orleans, but it does not seem to be happening any more often than usual here, which is maybe a little surprising.

[-]

InfidelZombie@reddit

There does appear to be a bit of a downturn in restaurants in my city. But it's probably because people are going out to eat less due to the borderline extortionate tipping requests, which results in them raising menu prices to offset the lost revenue, which leads to even less business.

The places that haven't doubled their menu places in the last 5 years seem to be doing great.

[-]

Altruistic_Cell1675@reddit

Depends on how big the business is. The pandemic still affected some people economically today :(

[-]

Waisted-Desert@reddit

Restaurants are always a gamble, they open and close quite often. The exception being most locations on the Las Vegas Strip. They have big money backing them along with name recognition. Those restaurants often last 5+ years. And then the change up is seen as keeping the location "fresh."

[-]

Ok-Abbreviations9936@reddit

Restaurants have an extremely high failure rate even in good times. They have a very tight margin, and many people think they can run one without prior experience.

[-]

TooManyDraculas@reddit

Closure rates in the US are currently lower than they were in the couple years before the pandemic.

And opening rates are up. As are apparently revenues.

That said attendance is flat, and margins are shrinking down to cost increases. The baseline closure rate in the US was a lot higher than the UK to begin with as well.

So there's likely to be a pretty big problem if the economy explodes as most people are predicting.

[-]

metamucil_buttchug69@reddit

Businesses close, businesses open. It's a cycle.

[-]

Quirky_Commission_56@reddit

14 in my immediate area within this year.

[-]

nathanwilson26@reddit

Restaurants are a notoriously fickle business here. They close all the time.

[-]

Extra_Routine_6603@reddit

In my area seems to be mix have had few places close in last few years but also new places open up in the same spot.

[-]

zoppaTheDim@reddit

Closing? No

But a lot closed during Covid. Locally, we have a glut of commercial space.

[-]

DwarvenRedshirt@reddit

Every day businesses open and close. Especially restaurants. A good chunk fail within 3 years in the US (no idea on the UK). It got really bad during and after COVID.

[-]

William6212@reddit (OP)

In the uk, in my city especially, we’ve seen restaurants open, and shut permanently after 3 months (boojam) Mexican food in Nottingham

Bar burrito one of the biggest burrito chains just closed last month

There’s a restaurant or shop closing every fortnight

[-]

DResq@reddit

But that happens all the time anyway. You may just be noticing more now, but that's not really new.

[-]

William6212@reddit (OP)

So many places closing down at an alarming rate though

[-]

tuckedfexas@reddit

That’s always happening. Even in my area that’s been one of the fastest growing for the last decade, there are dozens that close down every month.

More useful is to look at how many properties are vacant and for how long

[-]

ljculver64@reddit

Ive noticed a few of those instances. Feels location driven. Theres 3 spots that I swear have new restaurant names over and over like every 3 to 5 yrs. Meanwhile across the street are restaurants that have been there forever.

[-]

tuckedfexas@reddit

We have a bunch of those as well, my theory is they have lower rent than average and aren't well maintained. So they're less likely to draw an established client in that wants a well maintained facility. The lower rent is more attractive to someone just starting out and not having experience running a restaurant is almost guaranteed to fail.

[-]

CrispyKayak267@reddit

See, we don't have fortnights here, so there aren't so many closures.

[-]

1127_and_Im_tired@reddit

Thanks for the chuckle!

[-]

tanbrit@reddit

Oh interesting, I’m from Notts and haven’t been home in a while. Where I live in the US I’d say there’s more new places opening than there are closing

[-]

William6212@reddit (OP)

Whereabouts in notts you from?

[-]

tanbrit@reddit

I was born in the QMC, actually lived out in Derbyshire since I was 1 year old, but did go to Nottingham High for secondary school

[-]

William6212@reddit (OP)

Nice I bet you’re loving America cause Nottingham is a shit hole

[-]

William6212@reddit (OP)

Oh hey man. Fellow Nottingham resident. Nice to see another notts person here

[-]

cheap_dates@reddit

In my rural town (US) only the franchised, name brand, fast foods seem to be doing any real business. We lost several independents during and after COVID.

[-]

notthegoatseguy@reddit

Despite its popularity, Mexican food doesn't have as many chains as you would think in the US. Taco Bell and Qdoba are pretty much the only nation-wide chains ,and then there's a couple more that are in 15-20 or so states. But most of our Mexican food is local

Its very common for a Mexican restaurant to close up, either slow business, or retirement or whatever, and then some other entrepreneur will just start up a Mexican restaurant in the same spot later.

[-]

DwarvenRedshirt@reddit

Going under in 3 months is poor planning/research/management by the restaurant. They went forward without enough money in reserves to start with/overspent in the beginning.

[-]

GrumpySh33p@reddit

Every fortnight. 😂 Reminds me that though we speak the same language, we really don’t.

[-]

A_Trash_Homosapien@reddit

Friends of mine got fucked by COVID. They had opened a little bit before and were doing well and decide to expand right as COVID hit. They spent a ton of money on improvements for their dining area, more tables and etc. and then couldn't use it. They ended up having to close.

[-]

MetalEnthusiast83@reddit

Not around me in southern CT.

I mean, places close all the time, but they get replaced.

[-]

Yankee831@reddit

I own a bar and I’d close it in a heartbeat if my income didn’t rely on it. It’s just a brutal business being squeezed on all ends. The business situation in the industry is akin to an empty tube of toothpaste you’re squeezing the last bit out. We got nothing left to give.

[-]

SabresBills69@reddit

Covid hammered these places first. Thise thst coukd adapt to take out znd outdoor seating survived.

With restaurants its very competitive so things can close due to poor quality, location, too much similar food competition ....that's before I re you bring up economy things

[-]

capsrock02@reddit

Is water wet? Businesses close and open each day.

[-]

skilletjlc4@reddit

I’m in Florida and there are a lot of houses for sale. And seemingly no one buying. Cost of living is too high here now

[-]

Forward_Tank8310@reddit

Very much matters where you are.

[-]

Weird_Squirrel_8382@reddit

With independent restaurants we have lots of openings and closures. Or at least I see it as a lot from a small city perspective. But I'm surprised that a few fast food places have closed. I always perceived them as fairly permanent. I'm sure they switched owners but usually the McDonald's on a corner has been there my whole life.

[-]

hollylettuce@reddit

I've noticed that the extremely small businesses like craftsmen or tradesmen have either gone out of business or hiked their rates or prices. Can't speak on storefronts.

[-]

Constant_Boot@reddit

In some areas, yes.

In the city I live near, many downtown businesses are closing up because the construction and addition of a street car that's taking its sweet time to come to fruition has chased business away.

[-]

Euphoric_Ease4554@reddit

For us, the mall is struggling but Amazon is booming!

[-]

yozaner1324@reddit

My city has had several restaurants close recently, but not a crazy pace vs. normal.

[-]

HairyDadBear@reddit

Not anymore than usual in my area. Businesses close down all the time.

[-]

Free-Sherbet2206@reddit

All the time, but stuff is always being constructed where I live.

[-]

Cowboywizard12@reddit

Restaurants are some of the riskiest business ventures out there

[-]

Docnevyn@reddit

A few of my favorites have closed down in the last few months. It was really sad because they managed to weather the pandemic only to fall to landlord greed (my favorite Mexican) , expanding too rapidly (Salad’n go), and being sold to a new owner (local Italian restaurant)

That said, new restaurants are opening in my area all the time. They mostly seem concerningly expensive.

[-]

William6212@reddit (OP)

all the Mexican restaurants except Taco Bell, has closed in my city

[-]

Docnevyn@reddit

Sorry about that. To be fair, if all the Mexican restaurants in my part of Texas closed there would be riots.

[-]

kartoffel_engr@reddit

Depends on the local economy, but more importantly their business model.

Most of the places that have shutdown where I live aren’t because of inflation-driven reductions in customer traffic but poor business models, cost control, and terrible locations. The restaurant business isn’t for the faint of heart.

[-]

Frosty_Employment171@reddit

Here in the US food shops, restaurants, bars have a high failureb rate. I once read restaurants have a 90% failure rate. So yes, and it has always been that way.

[-]

ToastMate2000@reddit

We've had a few places close but also a lot of new restaurants open in my area. Also lots of new housing being built, so maybe even if individual people dine out less the overall population growth will still keep most of them open. Who knows? For now, though, the situation seems stable.

[-]

John628556@reddit

In 2024, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated that employment in the restaurant sector is growing a little faster than employment in other sectors: see https://www.bls.gov/ooh/food-preparation-and-serving/food-and-beverage-serving-and-related-workers.htm#tab-1.

Even if that's correct, I think that u/notthegoatseguy is correct: in the U.S., the restaurant business has long been a tough industry. Many restaurants don't last more than a few years.

[-]

jeremiah1142@reddit

Restaurants fail constantly. They also pop back up constantly. Most likely to fail business.

[-]

trilogyjab@reddit

It's definitely happening where I live

[-]

Bkwyrme@reddit

In my town, in the last two weeks, 4 restaurants have closed. One new one has opened. New ones are closing frequently after 2 years or 4 years here. A lot of new ones are testing the waters as food trucks. We have so many food trucks.

[-]

ljculver64@reddit

Not in my area. I tried to make reservations at a nice restraint for the end of May and they were booked through mid June.

Any night of the week every restaurant we go to is packed. We dont even bother w Fri or Sat nights anymore

[-]

Aggravating_Fishy_98@reddit

Our economy is suffering from dementia don so yeah a lot of businesses are struggling. Some entire chains that have been around for 50+ years are shutting down

[-]

PureOrangeJuche@reddit

It’s never been more joever

[-]

getElephantById@reddit

About 1000 restaurants close per month, nationwide (source). 17% of restaurants fail in the first year, 50% within five years (source).

I'm not going to bother looking up statistics on how many restaurants open. My perception is that one generally opens for every one that closes. Maybe a little less, maybe a little more. The movement unfortunately is toward chain restaurants and away from independents.

[-]

witchy12@reddit

A lot of family-owned businesses around me are closing down due to high rent and are getting replaced by chains.

[-]

sundancer2788@reddit

NJ, businesses that are very niche or the same as everyone else have closed. Restaurants are ok so far but they are definitely feeling the pinch.

[-]

Ok_Gas5386@reddit

Not that I’ve noticed. Certainly nothing like COVID or 2008.

Fast food has been struggling the last few years. Sit-down restaurants have been outcompeting them on value.

[-]

charcoal_kestrel@reddit

It varies by city, blah blah, but big picture, yes, retail is not in good shape in the US and in many cities, even cities that generally have good economies, you will see a fair number of vacant store fronts.

One indication of the health of restaurants and retail is rents for store fronts. Here is a graph of commercial real estate prices adjusted for inflation. You can see values have been in steady decline since summer of 2021.

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/?g=1V2Fv

[-]

Brennisth@reddit

Data availability of course lags, but the Bureau or Labor and Statistics is an interesting way to look at this over time / by region. I haven't noticed any change in my local area since return to office in 2022ish.

[-]

SonuvaGunderson@reddit

Where I live, if one closes, at least one is more than ready to take its place.

[-]

ALoungerAtTheClubs@reddit

Yes, there's definitely a churn.

[-]

tsukiii@reddit

I mean, restaurants are always closing and opening. The hardest part for a business to withstand is a lease renewal… commercial landlords will jack up those prices and a lot of businesses can’t afford it.

My area had a big craft brewery boom a while back, and the industry has shrunk a lot in recent years.

[-]

ALoungerAtTheClubs@reddit

I think that, in my area, it's more of a church than anything. Some close, and some open.

[-]

morosco@reddit

Not more than normal in Boise. Not very much vacant business space.

[-]

SnooPineapples280@reddit

A lot of bars have closed but I’m in Tourist Central so it seems once a place closes something else pops up there soon. It doesn’t seem worse than 2020/2021 for restaurants

[-]

Blue387@reddit

Many of the 24 hours places here in the city have closed or reduced their hours since the pandemic. The local 24 hour diner near me first reduced their hours and ultimately closed a few months ago.

[-]

Sorry-Government920@reddit

Restaurants are apparently having a very hard time finding staff more than a few in my area have closed because of it or reduced hours but new one continually open

[-]

HomemadeBananas@reddit

Restaurants come and go around where I live. Sure some close and you may think that’s a bad sign. But another one will open in its place either in the same building or somewhere else.

[-]

RedditWidow@reddit

Yes, more than 2,000 stores are set to close across the US in 2026

But on average, we have about 4 million new businesses starting every year, even during the pandemic. Constant opening and closing of restaurants and businesses is pretty common where I live, in a metro region of the South.

[-]

Crissup@reddit

Covid pretty much killed the independently owned restaurants and shops. Big corporate were the only ones with the financing to ride out the glut.

[-]

prosa123@reddit

More than 25 years ago Tony Bourdain noted in his book Kitchen Confidential that restaurants are among the very few businesses that people will open for emotional reasons. For example they are passionate about hosting dinner parties and enjoying good meals with friends, so the next logical step is to make money while doing so. The issue is that emotion is no substitute for clear-eyed thinking and financial analysis, so many restaurants are effectively doomed from the start.

[-]

bachintheforest@reddit

Not anymore than usual but yes it happens. I live in a touristy area so everything is unreasonably expensive. Every time a new place opens up we’re excited to try it, but then you find out it’s one of those places where a burger is $18 and fries are sold separately, for instance. What seems to happen constantly is a new place opens up, it seems trendy and all tourists and yuppies flock there, but then ultimately the locals don’t want to spend all their money there so after maybe two years they shut down. Rinse and repeat. Places turn over here and there.

[-]

imanasshole1331@reddit

I live in the woods outside of small town America, 15 minutes from a town of 2500. It’s business as usual here, the businesses we have are staples of necessity. Also, almost every bubble tea chain will be going out business it’s just a trend and it’s gross. Restaurants work on a tight margin and are always the first to go when the economy slumps.

[-]

Icy-Whale-2253@reddit

In some places… then a few months later something opens up in its place. I saw the place that fixed my glasses get turned into a local French bakery’s second location. I saw a Jamaican restaurant get turned into a Mixue.

[-]

Unusual_Memory3133@reddit

Here in the Seattle area, overhead costs are so high we are constantly hearing they restaurants are barely able to stay afloat - but they are, by raising prices to stratospheric levels. $18 sandwiches, $25 burgers, $22 burritos, $35-$40 pizzas. Most people I know are choosing to cook at home for the most part and of course that means less customers for the restaurants, so they have to raise prices even more. I don’t think things are headed anywhere good.

[-]

mangoribbean@reddit

Closing in NYC because landlords here home the rent on even the most successful businesses as soon as they're given the opportunity and then they let them stay vacant for up to a decade

[-]

Library_IT_guy@reddit

Not in my town. Now that covid is a distant memory we have a booming food service industry again. Two new places opened last year.

[-]

famousanonamos@reddit

Yes, a lot of places are closing down. A lot of independent stores and restaurants didn't make it through 2020/21 and many if those buildings have stayed vacant. Fast food and casual restaurants have been struggling in my area for years. Some get taken over by other chains, some go through a series of small independent businesses. A lot of our closed fast food restaurants have become Mexican restaurants, which we already have no shortage of so I don't know how they make it.

Fast food minimum wage in CA is $20 an hour now, so many places decided to run on a skeleton crew, which slows them down and drives customers away. Others have just closed underperforming locations to save money. They still increased their prices exponentially to cover the extra wages of the employees they don't have though.

We've lost a lot of big retail chains too, like Joann Fabrics and Party City, that have been around forever. Some of it is Amazon related, some is just bad business decisions (Joann's!), but either way, it sucks for those of us who actually like to see stuff in person when we buy it.

[-]

Racketyclankety@reddit

People aren’t going out to eat as much anymore. This is true everywhere, not just the USA. Take-away now accounts for more than 70% of restaurant orders here in the USA which is not good for old restaurant economics. Beverage sales used to pad out the budget, but take-away don’t order drinks. If a restaurant can’t transition from dining to cooking, they’re going under.

[-]

Acceptable_Reality10@reddit

In my old hometown we drove down Main Street a couple weekends ago and wow it’s a ghost town, my wife and I couldn’t believe how many businesses were gone. Where we’ve lived since covid no it’s been normal, place closes up another new one opens and no big deserts of empty buildings at all.

[-]

William6212@reddit (OP)

yes same here, my city has lost a lot of businesses it’s a ghost town. The shopping centre which used to be full of shops is now just empty to let places

[-]

The49GiantWarriors@reddit

In San Francisco, covid did tremendous harm to local restaurants and small businesses. Places were shutting down left and right.

That period has ended, however, and new businesses are occupying the formerly vacant spaces, and the city is experiencing a new economic boom/bubble.

That said, this doesn't necessarily mean things are better. Housing prices are having another upturn in an already absurdly expensive city. Restaurants and other businesses that used to stay open til late evening now close earlier. Remote/hybrid work remains the norm for huge segments of white collar workers, which negatively impacts small businesses downtown.

But overall, businesses are opening at a faster clip than those that are closing.

[-]

Comfortable-Elk-850@reddit

It’s tough everywhere but yes, seeing a lot of well known major stores closing down along with smaller places. Besides the economy, my opinion is a lot has to do with declining populations. Back during the boom in business people were having several children that were becoming adult consumers. Now a day the average family is less than 3children and the older populations are dying out physically. People are shopping online more than physical stores, it adds up.

[-]

William6212@reddit (OP)

makes a lot of sense.

[-]

demonspawn9@reddit

My area is booming like crazy. A lot of building and people relocating here. All of the restaurants are chains. Most are packed all day and theres demand for more. Not much room left to build and every spot left for miles is just awaiting final approval for building. We had one restaurant close but it was a corporate thing, all locations closed. Everyone is still retiring to Florida.

[-]

Fart_Barfington@reddit

Always and forever, with new ones taking their places.

[-]

Life-Wealth-3399@reddit

In my city, some things are closing. The job market sucks.

[-]

Rancor_Keeper@reddit

I’ll tell you what’s really affected are bars. This next generation that’s coming into the spotlight don’t drink as much as us Gen Xers and our parents boomer generation. The alcohol companies are freaking out.

[-]

William6212@reddit (OP)

Yup

Clubs and bars are closing left right and centre

[-]

Theycallmesupa@reddit

Businesses open and close in my area all the time, regardless of economic conditions.

[-]

OldRaj@reddit

My city is thriving and eateries are popping up with regularity. Fishers, Indiana.

[-]

biggreasyrhinos@reddit

Theyre doing well in my area, but the economy here is very dependent on oil/gas

[-]

No_Seaworthiness8176@reddit

So, I'm in the Boise area. College town. Small independent eateries/cafes and such seem to be thriving. My son is in Uni 300 miles north in the town of Moscow Idaho. Same deal. When I visit the cool little buger/pizza places and cafes are hopping.

[-]

trinite0@reddit

My city is currently experiencing fast population growth and economic growth, meaning that more small businesses (including restaurants) are opening than are closing.

Different local areas will have different local economic conditions.

[-]

Porcupine-in-a-tree@reddit

Not seeing that in my area. There are lots of things opening. If anything does close there is something else in its spot almost immediately.

[-]

ILovePublicLibraries@reddit

Blame private equity. The rich over working class!

Many businesses particularly big box ones like Kmart and Sears have been closing left and right all across America for the last decade or so. Private equity is taking over America and beyond with so many billionaires striking deals with so many companies.

Canada seems to be faring well in businesses operating in the Great White North with Toys R Us still going strong.

Many restaurants especially buffets and some big-name chains are having a really hard time trying to recover post-COVID.

This is America at its finest!

We gotta support small businesses locally if we want the restaurant and brick-or-mortar industry to survive and get more people to enjoy coming to experience eating out and having fun.

[-]

possums101@reddit

Where I live (Jersey City, NJ) restaurants close all the time it feels like. A combination of high commercial rents and people not having as much disposable income to spend out being the primary reasons.

[-]

William6212@reddit (OP)

Yep agreed same with uk, but everyone is feeling it we’ve had about 5-7 restaurants close average 2-3 months no kidding. I can name them two of the big chains

One burger chain (£20 burgers) Son of steak Revolution

These chains r like billions usd worth, ill find out the burger chain but ir was valued at 1b usd and the value dropped all the way to 27m pounds

[-]

captainstormy@reddit

Restaurants have historically failed at extremely high rates compared to most businesses. They are always opening and closing. It's an extremely hard business to operate profitably long term and even harder to get off the ground. So Restaurants closing is pretty normal even in really good times.

Personally I haven't noticed any large number of businesses closing. But that is likely to depend on the area more than anything else.

[-]

Lavender_r_dragon@reddit

Asheville nc has had a couple close this month. And since we are a tourist town, I hate to see what the high gas prices do :/

[-]

Diesel-the-merciful@reddit

I’m in Los Angeles and there are ethnic restaurants that been open since 97. Use to be mostly Mexican area but not other Latinos moving in. Also the gym is more diverse.

[-]

groundhogcow@reddit

Yes.

There are multiple things going on at the same time.

The end result is fewer places to shop.

[-]

GrumpySh33p@reddit

Portland area. Within some pockets of the city, yes… but the city is gross in some areas. In others, we’re doing well. No much change, or even growth.

[-]

Ill-Daikon-5637@reddit

Our entire state is turning into an Uber wealthy/homeless and no one in between society, so the really high end places are doing well, everything else is dead or dying, major corporations are leaving, jobs disappearing. In n Out remains busy though so not all is lost

[-]

MPLS_Poppy@reddit

In Minneapolis? No. But we have just been occupied by our governments everyone is expecting a rash of closures. But the community has been able to keep hurting businesses afloat for now. That won’t last forever though. So yeah, it’ll start happening sooner rather than later. And the economy is in a worse place than in 2020 so it’ll take longer for those locations to recover this time too.

[-]

GOTaSMALL1@reddit

I build grocery, pharmacy, dollar stores, fast food and casual restaurants for a national contractor.

It’s not the Heyday of like 2018… but we’re still really fucking busy.

[-]

TsundereLoliDragon@reddit

No more than normal I think.

[-]

TheBimpo@reddit

Not really, restaurants are doing just fine in the places I spend time.

[-]

Ghost-of-Black-47@reddit

Business as usual in Chicago. A lot of the Covid induced vacancies seem to finally be filling up. Who know how long this positive trend will last though.

[-]

Opening-Ad-2769@reddit

Yes, we have seen quite a few close. They were the marginal ones, the niche ones, and the expensive ones.

So like a steak house closed. It was an expensive one. One that closed was speciality shop that served biscuits (US style), and one that was a sandwich shop that wasn't in the best location

[-]

William6212@reddit (OP)

Yup son of steak one of our biggest chains just closed yesterday for good

[-]

darw1nf1sh@reddit

Covid killed so many restaurants. Chain, and local joints closed all over the place. We are seeing a comeback now as all the holes left by the failed sites are being filled again.

[-]

Quirky-Invite7664@reddit

I live just outside of a major city. Restaurants are always closing but new restaurants are always opening up.

I noticed the largest number of closures around 2021-2023, probably because of COVID.

[-]

canisdirusarctos@reddit

Yes, in the expensive coastal cities, particularly.

[-]

gaymersky@reddit

Where I live fast casual is being absolute crushed. Half a dozen Applebee's gone. All the Fridays gone. Another one called beef o Brady's closed 4 stores.

[-]

Medical_Listen_4470@reddit

I’m in So Cal and there are empty business offices everywhere.

[-]

CountChoculasGhost@reddit

Not sure about in general, but around here the brewery bubble kind of burst. So a lot of craft breweries/beer bars have closed recently.

[-]

3Duder@reddit

No but there is a huge office near my house that was built in 2019 that has been vacant this whole time.

[-]

nowhereman136@reddit

Small businesses always struggle. Even when the market is good, something like 90% of independent resteraunts close within 5 years. The big problem in American is Corperations are getting bigger at an alarming rate. People complain that McDonald's is getting too expensive, but they still go because they are everywhere, advertising works, and independent resteraunts still can't compete with the cost. McDonald's, Walmart, Amazon, and the rest of them are making it very hard for small businesses to get any sort of foothold in the local market

[-]

Rich_Future4171@reddit

No

[-]

Wheatcattle@reddit

Restaurants are constantly folding in any sort of economic environment. It's a reasonably lower barrier to entry and a field that people convince themselves they have the experience and skills to make one go in far too easily.

[-]

houdini31@reddit

Not more than normal. Small businesses in general are hard to keep going so while there are some not more than normal.

[-]

La_noche_azul@reddit

Where I live a lot of bars and clubs are closing

[-]

William6212@reddit (OP)

Yeah the uk is also going through the same we’ve had over 500 close this year, our biggest chain revolution went through administration and thousands of jobs just got cut

[-]

VespaRed@reddit

The problem with the United States is that we seem to have fads where we have overpopulation of a certain type of restaurant. We’ve had a bit of a barbecue die off because of the price of beef and oversaturation of the market. Mom and bubble tea joints are also closing. Pizza places also seem to have a lot of churn, but that’s always been the case. There’s also a lot of food source consolidation in the US, mostly using Sysco food and simply reheating it in your “restaurant“. And I think people are getting tired of that. I saw a good Vlog where a YouTuber got four people in different parts of the United States to get the same restaurant items like jalapeño poppers from “local “restaurants and it was obviously all from the same manufacturer.

[-]

Grouchy-Stand-4570@reddit

It’s harder for the non corporate businesses to survive

[-]

JadeHarley0@reddit

I definitely think in my small town, more places have closed than open recently

[-]

William6212@reddit (OP)

Yep makes sense same with us

[-]

Obvious_Ship_7225@reddit

Yes, in Los Angeles. Part of it is mass deportations, which have hit certain industries hard.

[-]

tomveiltomveil@reddit

Washington, DC is doing great. At the last couple of neighborhood meetings I've been to, people were complaining about how quickly all the new shops were opening!

[-]

Folksma@reddit

Unfortunately, a lot of restaurants in DC struggle with staying open long term

The rent for retail/restaurants is sky high and mo one owns their property. One of the restaurants I worked in was in the red since the day they opened specifically due to rent costs.

In my neighborhood it's like they last 2 years max before closing

[-]

whatisakafka@reddit

Really?

https://www.dcnewsnow.com/news/local-news/washington-dc/dc-restaurant-closures-continue-to-climb-losing-more-than-90-businesses-in-2025-ramw-report/

https://dc.eater.com/dc-restaurant-closings

[-]

GovernorGeneralPraji@reddit

Nothing odd here in the Greater Pittsburgh area. All our favorite places are always fairly busy.

[-]

killingourbraincells@reddit

Not where I live - Central Florida. I see new stuff opening everyday. I actually have a whole notebook page of new places I want to visit. I do give new restaurants around six months of operation before I visit them to give them the best judgement.

But no, I haven't seen anywhere that wasn't a gimmick designed to fail close down. I have seen some restaurants relocate though, but, they did move to bigger locations. One of them was actually a British Pub near my house - Magical Meat Boutique. Owner is from London.

[-]

IdLetHerGiveMeAids@reddit

Yes

[-]

Severe_Flan_9729@reddit

Like what others have said, it's dependent on where you are.

But a few bars / restaurants did close down recently. Some of it was due to hard times. Others due to expanding too aggressively too quickly and they can't rebound from those decisions.

[-]

William6212@reddit (OP)

So in the uk we’ve had over 500 clubs and bars close within a year due to rising business rates it’s becoming impossible to dine out or afford to go out for leisure, uk is going through a epidemic atm

[-]

Mesoscale92@reddit

I know people who have been in the restaurant business for 20 years. They say the way to make a million dollars with a restaurant is to start with 5 million. Most new ones don’t last a year, and that has been the case for decades.

[-]

Extension_Plant7262@reddit

A lot are closing down but the majority of small businesses close within the first year. I wouldn't be surprised if its not that accelerated today compared to historic norms

[-]

MidtownFrown@reddit

In Memphis TN yes