Carl\u2019s Jr., McKinley Avenue near Winery Avenue closed in February<\/a>.<\/p>\n Carl\u2019s Jr., Chinowth Street near Highway 198 in Visalia closed June 2026.<\/p>\n Five Guys, West Lacey Boulevard and 12th Avenue, Hanford<\/a>, July 4.<\/p>\n Five Guys, 3572 G St., Merced, June 26<\/a>.<\/p>\n Jack in the Box, Cedar and Nees avenues. Summer 2026.<\/p>\n KFC closed six locations from downtown<\/a> to Clovis<\/a>, starting in 2025<\/a>. They included the \u201cnext-gen\u201d restaurant<\/a> in northwest Fresno.<\/p>\n KFC\u2019s Kerman restaurant also shut down, The Bee reported earlier this year.<\/p>\n Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen at First Street and McKinley Avenue closed<\/a> in spring 2025.<\/p>\n Wendy\u2019s closed its downtown location<\/a> on C Street in late 2025.<\/p>\n Wendy\u2019s on West Shaw Avenue closed, too, earlier in 2026.<\/p>\n Why did these restaurants close?<\/p>\n Some of the restaurants are owned by big companies. Others are franchises, owned either by small franchisees who have a handful of locations or bigger companies that own dozens of locations across the region.<\/p>\n Fast-food restaurants face the same challenges that all restaurants do, said Jot Condie, CEO of the California Restaurant Association<\/a>. More than two dozen restaurants closed<\/a> in the Fresno area last year, and four popular local restaurants in January<\/a>.<\/p>\n The costs of running a business are already high and getting higher, Condie said. A recent survey by the association of its members said restaurants expect expenses to rise even more.<\/p>\n \u201cAlmost 80% are expecting costs across the board to go up \u2014 energy costs, insurance costs, labor costs, food costs,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Consumers are also uncertain about the economy and cutting back on spending, he said. Some people may not be eating out at all.<\/p>\n All of those factors are working against restaurants, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the industry that has roughly a 1 to 3% profit margin on average in California, there\u2019s no room for error,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n One of the most \u201cdevastating\u201d impacts for fast-food restaurants, Condie said, is California\u2019s $20 minimum wage<\/a> that applies to fast-food restaurants with 60 locations or more that started in 2024. (California\u2019s regular minimum wage is $16.90.)<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you talk to restaurant operators who have closed locations, they will always cite that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n However, a study updated April 1 \u2014 two years after the law took effect \u2014 said the $20 minimum wage did not reduce employment in the fast-food sector.<\/p>\n The study from the Center on Wage and Employment Dynamics<\/a> at University of California, Berkeley found the law led to modest price increases and did not reduce employment in the fast-food sector \u2013 even when taking the closures into account.<\/p>\n Said report author and professor Michael Reich in a news release about the study on the $20 fast-food minimum wage: \u201cOur results coincide with most of the minimum wage studies. … Minimum wage increases have minimal effects on jobs, make it easier for employers to recruit and retain workers, and lead to modest price increases \u2014 in this case, about six cents for a $4 hamburger.\u201d<\/p>\n This story was originally published July 8, 2026 at 2:36 PM.<\/p>\n Related Stories from Fresno Bee<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/IMG_7536.JPG\" "\\"IMG_7536.JPG\\"")
The Carl\u2019s Jr. on Shaw Avenue and First Street is closed, all of its signs removed. Bethany Clough bclough@fresnobee.com ![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/FRS_EPZ_FASTFOOD_CLOSURES_04.JPG\" "\\"FRS_EPZ_FASTFOOD_CLOSURES_04.JPG\\"")
The Wendy’s, foreground, and adjacent KFC on C Street just south of Fresno Street are closed, seen Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026 in Fresno. The Wendy\u2019s is now reopen as an Aliberto\u2019s Jr Mexican restaurant and the KFC will be a Smashville Burgers & Chicken restaurant. ERIC PAUL ZAMORA ezamora@fresnobee.com <\/p>\n
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