Popular gourmet burger chain in NJ plans to close 70 locations

🍔 A gourmet burger chain that's popular in NJ may close 70 spots

🍔 The closures would happen over the next five years

🍔 Declining revenue is to blame

A gourmet burger chain may close 70 locations over the next five years as their leases expire and the company continues to recover from a drop in revenue, according to its fourth quarter fiscal report.

Red Robin’s total revenues for 2024 are $1.25 billion, a $54.5 million drop from 2023, according to a February earnings report.

The full-service restaurant chain that serves gourmet burgers in a family-friendly atmosphere also suffered a net loss of $77.5 million in 2024 compared to $21.2 million in 2023.

Red Robin closed one location last year after its lease expired, but now the chain is looking to close about 70 underperforming restaurant locations, according to the release.

Those underperforming locations are expected to close over the next five years as their leases expire, with 10 to 15 restaurants shuttering their doors in 2025 alone, said Red Robin President and CEO G.J. Hart.

“The last two years have been transformational years for Red Robin, and I’m proud to say we began to see the benefit of our work as we progressed through 2024, culminating a 600-basis point improvement in traffic trends from the first quarter of the year to the fourth,” Hart said.

He added that the company has gained traction in cost-saving initiatives. “While financial results for 2024 fell well below our original expectations, we’ve made substantial improvements to the guest experience and believe we still have a significant opportunity ahead of us to reach the full potential of our iconic brand,” he added.

Red Robin’s commitment has always been to provide guests with great hospitality and delicious food at a great price and to create a fun, friendly atmosphere, Hart said.

“As we look to 2025 and beyond, our team will focus on two key priorities: bringing guests back into our restaurants for moments of connection over craveable food that only Red Robin can provide and an accelerated effort to gain efficiency in our operations, and deliver growth in restaurant and corporate-level profitability while maintaining the improved guest experience,” Hart said.

While the company has seen decreases in revenues between 2023 and 2024, Hart said that 2025 is off to a good start with the comparable restaurant momentum it had exiting the fourth quarter and continuing through the first eight weeks of the first quarter of 2025.

Adding new menu items and promotions throughout the year, including limited-time offers and new salad options, will hopefully be key in luring customers back, he said.
The closures of possibly 70 Red Robin restaurants are expected to free up money that can be reinvested in the company or used to repay debt, the CEO said.

Some popular gourmet burgers at Red Robin include The Whiskey River BBQ (burger served with signature Whiskey River BBQ sauce, crispy onion straws, cheddar, lettuce, and tomato), The Banzai (a teriyaki-glazed patty topped with sweet, juicy grilled fresh pineapple, cheddar, lettuce, tomato, and mayo), and The Smashed Avocado n’ Bacon (freshly smashed avocado with red pepper flakes, hardwood-smoked bacon, Swiss cheese, onion, lettuce, and mayo).

While the locations of possible closures have not been announced, Red Robin has a dozen New Jersey locations. They include Brick, East Brunswick, Hamilton, Woodbridge, Clifton, Cherry Hill, South Plainfield, Secaucus, Mays Landing, Deptford, Rockaway, and Vineland.

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