The Chain Restaurants In GA Closing For Good In 2021

GEORGIA — When the coronavirus pandemic swept Georgia in March, retailers and restaurants were forced to close for weeks — and those that survived, weeks of closures pivoted their business models among ever-changing public health guidelines.

To say that 2020 was a brutal year for brick-and-mortar retailers and restaurants across America is an enormous understatement. Owing to the worst domestic public health crisis in a century, corporate bankruptcies in those industries increased significantly from 17 in 2019 to 30 this year.

The financial hemorrhaging of retailers and restaurants was felt strongly in Georgia, where the following chains filed for bankruptcy or announced location closures this year or continued closures in 2021:

Applebee’s

Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill is expected to permanently shut down 15 branches and close over 200 underperforming locations by the end of the year, Business Insider reported. The Atlanta-born restaurant chain has 60 locations across the state, and it is unclear which — if any — Georgia locations will be closed permanently in 2021.

California Pizza Kitchen

Blaming restrictions on indoor dining, the pizza chain declared bankruptcy in July. The company reduced its debt and closed several locations before exiting bankruptcy in November.

Chuck E. Cheese

The future of the party and entertainment chain's 15 Georgia locations remains uncertain after the parent company of the popular children's-themed restaurant filed for bankruptcy in June.

Dunkin’

Dunkin’ announced plans in July to close 800 locations — or about 8 percent of all U.S. Dunkin’ locations — across the U.S. in 2020, including 450 store closures within the convenience store and gas station chain Speedway, according to Business Insider.

Golden Corral

Golden Corral closed all 33 of its Georgia and Florida locations in March, but reopened six of them by October, including several in Georgia; however, Golden Corral also filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October, according to Restaurant Business. Plans still include reopening 18 more of the Georgia and Florida locations by the end of the year — but that will be it. Nine of the locations will remain permanently shuttered.

IHOP

The IHOP family restaurant chain is expected to close as many as 99 restaurants in the next six months as a result of a financial review that was underway in late October, according to Restaurant Business. Sixteen IHOP locations were closed in third quarter 2020.

McDonald’s

In late July, McDonald’s announced it would permanently close 200 locations across the U.S. by the end of 2020, around half of which were located inside Walmarts across the nation, Business Insider reported. The closures will be offset by openings; the company planned to open 950 new restaurants in 2020, 400 of which are in China.

Pizza Hut

In August, Pizza Hut’s largest franchisee, NPC International, announced it would close up to 300 Pizza Hut locations — most of which were dine-in restaurants — and sell the rest of its Pizza Hut business. NPC International locations made up about 20 percent of all U.S. Pizza Hut restaurants.

Ruby Tuesday

Citing the pandemic as a reason, the casual dining chain has closed about 200 locations in recent years but still has about 300 open - including 19 in Georgia.

Starbucks

Starbucks announced in its June 10 Securities and Exchange Commission filing that it would close up to 400 company-owned stores in the U.S. over the next 18 months, and up to 200 in Canada, Business Insider reported; however, the closures would be offset by new store openings, bringing the total number of Starbucks stores up by a net 300 locations.

Steak ‘n Shake

Steak ‘n Shake has been closing locations nationwide since the beginning of 2020 in part due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. It started 2020 with 610 locations and is now down 528, down by 82 locations, reported Restaurant Business.