You’ve probably seen the headlines or maybe just drove past a darkened building where the neon red bird used to glow. It’s a bummer. For anyone who grew up craving those bottomless steak fries or a Royal Red Robin burger, seeing Red Robin closing locations feels like losing a chunk of suburban childhood. But honestly, the situation is a lot messier than just "people aren't eating burgers anymore."
Restaurant chains are in a weird spot right now. Everything is more expensive. Labor costs are through the roof. Rent is insane. And Red Robin Gourmet Burgers Inc. has been fighting a multi-year war to keep its head above water while trying to figure out if it's a family joint, a bar, or a takeout hub.
Why are we seeing Red Robin closing locations right now?
It isn't a single "death blow." Instead, it's a slow burn. Over the last few years, the company has shuttered dozens of underperforming spots. Back in 2020, they closed a significant chunk of mall-based restaurants—around 35 of them. Why? Because malls are dying, and if nobody is walking past the front door to go to JCPenney, nobody is stopping in for a Whiskey River BBQ Burger.
More recently, the strategy has shifted. It’s about the "North Star" plan. This is the brainchild of CEO G.J. Hart, who took over with a mission to fix the brand's reputation. Sometimes, fixing a brand means cutting off the limbs that aren't working.
If a specific location has a lease that’s about to expire and the math doesn't add up, they walk away. They have to. Keeping a struggling restaurant open just to maintain a "store count" is a fast track to bankruptcy. We've seen this in states like Pennsylvania, New York, and across the West Coast. These aren't random; they are calculated exits from markets where the cost of doing business has outpaced the price of a burger.
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The Quality Crisis and the Pivot
For a while there, Red Robin got... kinda bad. Let's be real. The service was slow, the floors were sticky, and the food felt like it was sitting under a heat lamp for twenty minutes. Management knew it.
To stop the bleeding and prevent more Red Robin closing locations, they actually moved away from the very things that were supposed to save money. They ditched the conveyor-belt ovens—those "easy" ovens that cooked everything the same—and went back to flat-top grills. They started hiring more busboys and hosts again. They realized that you can't "efficient" your way out of a bad dining experience.
But this pivot costs money. A lot of it. To pay for better meat and more staff, the company has to be leaner. That means if your local Red Robin wasn't pulling its weight, it was probably on the chopping block.
The Real Estate Reality
Real estate is the silent killer in the casual dining world. Red Robin doesn't own most of its buildings. They lease them.
When a 10-year or 20-year lease comes up for renewal in 2024 or 2025, the rent isn't going up by five percent. It’s often doubling. For a restaurant operating on thin margins, that’s the end of the road.
- Mall exits: Most of the "permanent" closures in the last three years were tied to declining foot traffic in traditional shopping centers.
- Market saturation: In some areas, there were simply too many locations too close together.
- Labor shortages: In high-cost-of-living areas, finding enough staff to run a 6,000-square-foot restaurant became impossible.
What experts are saying about the "Great Shakeout"
Financial analysts, like those at Sharon Zackfia from William Blair, have been watching the casual dining sector closely. It’s a "barbell" economy. On one side, you have high-end steakhouses doing fine. On the other, you have fast food. Mid-tier spots like Red Robin, TGI Fridays, and Applebee’s are stuck in the "squeezed middle."
Red Robin’s "North Star" plan is an attempt to climb out of that middle. They’ve upgraded over 20 menu items. They brought back the "Gourmet" in their name. But even with these changes, the company has faced "impairment charges." That’s a fancy accounting term that basically means they’ve admitted certain assets—like specific restaurant buildings—aren't worth what they thought they were.
It’s a tough pill to swallow. Investors get jumpy when they see "impairment," but it’s actually a sign of a company being honest about its footprint.
Is the brand actually dying?
Not yet. Not by a long shot.
Despite the Red Robin closing locations you see in the news, the company still operates over 500 restaurants across the U.S. and Canada. They are actually opening new prototypes in some markets—smaller footprints that focus more on carry-out and delivery.
The "Old Red Robin" was a massive, sprawling building with a huge bar and a billion tables. The "New Red Robin" is trying to be more agile. They are leaning into their loyalty program, which has over 11 million members. That’s a huge database of people who actually want the brand to succeed.
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The Donatos Factor
One of the weirdest and most successful things they did to prevent more closures was partnering with Donatos Pizza. By putting pizza ovens in Red Robin kitchens, they added a whole new revenue stream without needing a new building. It worked. In many locations, pizza sales provided the extra cushion needed to keep the doors open when burger sales dipped.
What to do if your local spot shuts down
It sucks when your go-to Friday night spot vanishes. If you're standing in front of a locked door, here’s the reality check.
First, check the website. Sometimes a "closure" is actually a temporary renovation. As part of the brand refresh, many spots are being gutted and updated to look less like a 1990s playroom and more like a modern eatery.
Second, look for the gift card balance. If you have a Red Robin gift card and your local spot closed, it’s still valid at any other location or for online orders. Unlike a total bankruptcy where gift cards become worthless pieces of plastic, Red Robin is still very much an active corporation.
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Third, use the app. If they’ve closed the physical dining room near you, check if they are still running a "ghost kitchen" out of a nearby facility for delivery. Sometimes the brand stays alive in a zip code even if the sign is gone from the strip mall.
The Future of Casual Dining
The trend of Red Robin closing locations is a symptom of a larger shift in how we spend money. We don't want "average" anymore. If we’re going to spend $60 for a family of four to eat burgers, the fries better be hot and the server better be friendly.
Red Robin is betting everything on the idea that people still want a "sit-down" experience, provided it’s actually good. They are cutting the dead weight to save the heart of the company. It’s a risky move, but in the current economic climate, it’s the only move they have left.
Keep an eye on the quarterly earnings reports. If you see "same-store sales" going up even as the total number of restaurants goes down, that means the plan is working. It means they are becoming a smaller, but much healthier, company.
Actionable Steps for Red Robin Fans
- Check the "Last Call" status: Before driving across town, use the official Red Robin store locator. Third-party sites like Yelp are notoriously slow at updating permanent closure statuses.
- Redeem rewards quickly: If you are a member of the Red Robin Royalty program, don't sit on your rewards. While the company isn't in immediate danger of total collapse, it’s always better to use those "10th burger free" credits sooner rather than later.
- Monitor local real estate news: Closures are often leaked months in advance via local planning commission notes or commercial real estate filings. If you see a "For Lease" sign on the property, the writing is on the wall.
- Support the "New" model: If you want your local spot to survive, try their newer menu items or the Donatos pizza. Higher check averages per customer are the primary metric that saves a location from the chopping block.