Will Your Favorite Wendy’s Restaurant Be Closing In New Jersey?

Yesterday, word came out for the first time that hundreds of Wendy’s Restaurants will be closing nationwide.

I immediately thought about Wendy’s Founder Dave Thomas. More about him later.

Next, I selfishly wondered if my favorite Wendy’s Restaurant on Tilton Road in Northfield, New Jersey would be closing?

Wendy’s Is Famous For Their Square Shaped Hamburger

Nearby Somers Point, New Jersey recently completed a major refurbishment of its Wendy’s Restaurant.

Wendy’s Official Announcement

Wendy's plans to close hundreds of its U.S. restaurants, or a mid-single-digit percentage of its approximately 6,000 locations, starting in late 2025 through 2026. These closures are part of a turnaround plan to shut down consistently underperforming locations to improve overall performance, profitability, and to redirect resources to more successful restaurants, according to Wendy’s.

How Many Wendy’s Restaurants Will Close?

An exact number of closings has not yet been revealed. The range of closings appears to be 200 to 350.

The Goal

Is to address underperforming restaurants that are bringing down overall sales and profitability.

“Project Fresh”

Is a Wendy’s larger plan. Wendy’s has already closed 140 stores in 2024. It’s a turnaround strategy.

Which Wendy’s Restaurants Will Close?

Wendy’s has not provided a specific list of restaurant closings at this time.

Did You Know That Dave Thomas Was Born In Atlantic City, New Jersey?

Dave Thomas, founder and chief executive officer of Wendy’s was born on July 2, 1932 in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Thomas was adopted when he was between six weeks and six months old by Rex and Auleva Thomas.

Dave Thomas became a famous advocate for adoption, founding the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption.

Founded Wendy’s Restaurants in 1969. He named his restaurant chain after his daughter, Wendy.

Thomas starred in more than 800 national television commercials, and, at one time was said to have a 90 percent name recognition.

Thats more television commercial appearances than any company founder in American history.

Previous to founding Wendy’s Thomas was the regional director for Kentucky Fried Chicken. He sold his stock back to KFC for $ 1.5 million … which allowed Thomas to become part of the investor group that founded Arthur Treacher's Fish & Chips, another restaurant that our family really liked.

Thomas was at Arthur Treacher’s for less than one year before founding Wendy’s.

Thomas died on January 8, 2002.