Why are so many chain restaurants closing in the Fresno area? Here’s the list
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- At least 16 fast-food restaurants have closed in the Fresno area since 2025.
- KFC suffered the most closures, with at least seven locations shutting down.
- California’s $20 fast‑food minimum wage began in 2024 for chains with 60+ locations.
At least 16 fast-food restaurants have closed in the Fresno area since 2025.
They’ve left behind empty buildings, sometimes covered in fences.
Even the Carl’s Jr. on the busy corner at First Street and Shaw Avenue not far from Fresno State wasn’t spared.
And KFC locations seem to have been hit the hardest, with at least seven in the area closing.
So why are so many closing? We have answers.
But first, check out the list of places that have closed.
Closed fast-food restaurants in Fresno area
Carl’s Jr., First Street and Shaw Avenue in Fresno closed June 27.
Carl’s Jr., McKinley Avenue near Winery Avenue closed in February.
Carl’s Jr., Chinowth Street near Highway 198 in Visalia closed June 2026.
Five Guys, West Lacey Boulevard and 12th Avenue, Hanford, July 4.
Five Guys, 3572 G St., Merced, June 26.
Jack in the Box, Cedar and Nees avenues. Summer 2026.
KFC closed six locations from downtown to Clovis, starting in 2025. They included the “next-gen” restaurant in northwest Fresno.
KFC’s Kerman restaurant also shut down, The Bee reported earlier this year.
Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen at First Street and McKinley Avenue closed in spring 2025.
Wendy’s closed its downtown location on C Street in late 2025.
Wendy’s on West Shaw Avenue closed, too, earlier in 2026.
Why did these restaurants close?
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.
Fast-food restaurants face the same challenges that all restaurants do, said Jot Condie, CEO of the California Restaurant Association. More than two dozen restaurants closed in the Fresno area last year, and four popular local restaurants in January.
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.
“Almost 80% are expecting costs across the board to go up — energy costs, insurance costs, labor costs, food costs,” he said.
Consumers are also uncertain about the economy and cutting back on spending, he said. Some people may not be eating out at all.
All of those factors are working against restaurants, he said.
“In the industry that has roughly a 1 to 3% profit margin on average in California, there’s no room for error,” he said.
One of the most “devastating” impacts for fast-food restaurants, Condie said, is California’s $20 minimum wage that applies to fast-food restaurants with 60 locations or more that started in 2024. (California’s regular minimum wage is $16.90.)
“When you talk to restaurant operators who have closed locations, they will always cite that,” he said.
However, a study updated April 1 — two years after the law took effect — said the $20 minimum wage did not reduce employment in the fast-food sector.
The study from the Center on Wage and Employment Dynamics at University of California, Berkeley found the law led to modest price increases and did not reduce employment in the fast-food sector – even when taking the closures into account.
Said report author and professor Michael Reich in a news release about the study on the $20 fast-food minimum wage: “Our 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 — in this case, about six cents for a $4 hamburger.”
This story was originally published July 8, 2026 at 2:36 PM.
