Casual dining chain Red Robin Gourmet Burgers Inc. has closed another restaurant as part of its plan to shutter up to 70 underperforming restaurants and restructure its business operations.

The restaurant chain has also sold dozens of locations as part of its refranchising program.

Red Robin is closing and selling dozens of restaurant locations.

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Red Robin shutters restaurant

Red Robin is closing its restaurant at Crossroads in Cary, N.C., in the coming weeks after agreeing to sell the property to Birmingham, Ala.-based commercial developer Capital Growth Buchalter for $3.3 million, according to Triangle Business Journal.

The restaurant chain was not immediately available for comment.

The 55-year-old casual dining chain launched its First Choice Plan in July 2025 seeking to refranchise stores, cut expenses, and reduce debt. The company had said it would close up to 70 stores in its fourth quarter 2024 report in February 2025.

As part of the First Choice Plan, Red Robin closed 23 locations in 2025 as leases expired and repaid $20.3 million in debt by mid-year. The chain’s efforts improved the company’s business as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, increased by 53% to $69.7 million in 2025, according to Restaurant Business.

Chain closing 20 locations in 2026

After originally targeting 70 closings, Red Robin’s restructuring efforts allowed it to take 20 locations off its closing list. The restaurant chain, however, said it expected to close an additional 20 locations in 2026 as store leases expire bringing the number back up to 70, Restaurant Business reported.

The company plans to close up to 27 more locations in the next few years. The company has not released a list of locations that will close.

“Going back a ways, we found we’ve made improvements on about 20 restaurants that we had previously identified as potential problems for us or potential closures. We’ve moved them off the closure list to where we think we can operate them and are hopeful that we can get them back to a performance level that equals the rest of the system,” Red Robin CEO Dave Pace said in the company’s fourth quarter 2025earnings call.

Company sells 116 restaurants

The Cary, N.C., location wasn’t Red Robin‘s only sale this year, as the restaurant chain sold 69 units in eight states to OP Burgers LLC for $62.5 million and 17 units in Oregon and Washington to Kuber, Oregon LLC and Kuber Washington LLC for $10 million, according to a June 15 statement.

Red Robin also sold 30 locations to multi-unit restaurant operator and franchisee Evergreen Dining LLC for $23.5 million, according to a May 28 company statement.

The restaurants, located in Washington and Western Idaho, will continue operating under the Red Robin brand.

Evergreen Dining has operated over 100 restaurants across several national brands for almost 30 years.

“Since launching our First Choice Plan last year, we have been focused on finding franchise partners who share our values and commitment to delighting guests,” Pace said in a statement. “We are confident Evergreen Dining is the right partner to accelerate growth at these locations while also helping us strengthen our balance sheet, improve our capital structure, and enhance our financial flexibility as we evaluate potential refinancing partners.”

Red Robin, founded in 1969, operates about 475 restaurant locations in the U.S. and Canada, with about 81% of stores company-owned and 19% franchised, according to the company website.

Other casual restaurant chains have suffered more severe economic conditions this year, leading to the permanent closing of all of their establishments.

FAT Brands Inc., which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Jan. 26, 2026, closed 15 underperforming Smokey Bones locations and converted 19 units to Twin Peaks restaurants. All Smokey Bones locations closed by the end of April 2026, WSYX-TV reported.

OTB Hospitality, the operating company of On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina, filed for Chapter 7 liquidation on June 19 after closing all company-owned locations earlier that month, the company shared in a June 19 press release.

Franchise locations in South Dakota, Florida, Nevada, California, and South Korea continue operating independently, however, and were not included in the Chapter 7 case.

First Choice Plan closings:

• Red Robin closes one location in fourth quarter of 2024. Source: Red Robin.
• Red Robin closes 23 restaurants in 2025.
• Red Robin closing 20 locations in 2026.
• Chain plans 27 more closings. Source: Restaurant Business.

Related: Popular burger chain franchisee files Chapter 11 bankruptcy