A slowdown in sales last year by chain restaurants has contributed to economic issues for certain dining companies and franchisees, leading to unit closings in some cases.

Aside from the Covid-19 pandemic, chain restaurant sales slowed to their lowest growth rate for the Top 500 chains since the Great Recession of 2008, dropping to 3% growth compared to 3.5% in 2024, according to a recent Technomic study as reported by Restaurant Business.

The challenges the industry faced included weak consumer confidence, a growing use of weight-loss drugs, bad weather, and an immigration crackdown, according to the Technomic report.

Very weak year for restaurant chain sales

“It was a very, very weak year for the Top 500 overall from a sales perspective,” Joe Pawlak, managing principal at Technomic said, according to Restaurant Business.

Lower sales have led to closings at Golden Corral Buffet & Grill, which was ranked No. 46 in the Technomic Top 250 Chains report in 2025.

Franchisees of the popular family-style buffet restaurant chain closed locations this year, with at least one owner claiming it could no longer sustain business operations.

Golden Corral Buffet & Grill franchisees have closed restaurant locations.

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Golden Corral franchisee closes location

The Golden Corral location at 350 Homer M. Adams Parkway in Alton, Ill., permanently closed seven days earlier than expected on April 23, 2026, because of staffing problems, after years of intermittent closures and reopenings, the Alton Telegraph reported.

The franchisee had announced in early April that it would permanently close operations on April 30, but abruptly closed a week early.

“We are truly sorry, but we are no longer able to keep this store staffed enough to properly serve our valued guests. We are closed permanently,” a note on the front door read.

A previous notice posted by the restaurant said it was closing, as it could no longer sustain operations, according to The Telegraph.

Restaurant could not sustain operations

“This decision was not made lightly,” the note said. “We explored every possible option to keep this location up and running, but despite our best efforts, the location is no longer able to operate sustainably.”

A Golden Corral manager reportedly had said that local employees would be transferred to other Golden Corral locations after April 30.

The nearest Golden Corral location to the Alton restaurant is at 3360 Green Mountain Crossing Drive in Shilo, Ill., The Telegraph reported.

Ohio location also closes

A Golden Corral franchisee in Canton, Ohio, also closed a location at 4910 Dressler Road NW on Feb. 1, 2026, for undisclosed reasons, the Canton Repository reported.

“It’s sad. We had a really good run here,” manager and franchise owner Nikki Zehner told The Repository.

The Canton Golden Corral opened in 2002, and Zehner reportedly has been an employee or owner of the establishment for about 15 years. The business employs about 50 workers, and some plan to take positions at a Golden Corral in Akron, Ohio, Zehner said.

Zehner, who would not reveal why the restaurant was closing, said she might sell equipment and other restaurant property, but she does not own the building.

Buffet chain has about 340 locations

Golden Corral opened its first restaurant in Fayetteville, N.C., in 1973, and we have determined that the chain currently has about 340 locations in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, based on a review of its store locator on April 24.

The restaurant chain’s locator also lists 41 permanently closed and five temporarily closed locations.

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