Guilty pleasure taco and burger chain closing 100s of restaurants

QSR +4.24% SBUX +4.66%

• The chain has sold off a struggling sister brand.

• Its restaurant closures should drive sales to other locations.

• The quarterly sales numbers were disappointing.

When a restaurant loses its way, it can be hard to reconnect with customers, but it has happened.

Burger King, for example, has shown some early positive results from its "Reclaim the Flame" program designed to turn around its business.

"Operating satisfaction for lunch and dinner rose 4 points year-over-year, reaching their highest levels since we launched Reclaim the Flame in 2022. This progress was driven by continued improvements in customer friendliness, food quality, order accuracy and speed of service," Restaurant Brands International CEO Joshua Kobza shared during his chain's second-quarter earnings call.

Starbucks has shown its own positive results from its turnaround efforts.

"A year ago, we launched our Back to Starbucks strategy to get us back to the exceptional craft, connection, and welcoming coffee houses that define the Starbucks Corporation experience and set us apart. Since then, we've been focused on executing our plan and accelerating it where we've seen opportunity," CEO Brian Niccol shared during the company's fourth-quarter earnings call.

He also shared some clear numbers supporting the idea that the plan is working.

"We took the significant step of scaling several key pieces of work during the quarter. It's clear from our results that our plan is working and our turnaround is taking hold. We finished the fiscal year strong with 5% global revenue growth, global comparable store sales growth of 1% in the fourth quarter, making it our first positive quarter in seven quarters," he added.

Now, another legendary fast food name, Jack In the Box, has been working on its own turnaround efforts, called Jack on Track, since late April, and that plan involves shutting down locations.

Jack in the Box closing stores

When Jack on Track was introduced, the company made its store closure plans clear.

"Jack in the Box will also close 150-200 underperforming restaurants under a block closure program," it shared in the launch press release.

The company also shared how the shutdowns would take place:

Jack on Track block closure plans

• Jack in the Box will implement a block closure program, which is projected to result in the closure of approximately 150-200 underperforming restaurants, a majority of which have been in the system for over three decades.

• The program will consist of approximately 80-120 restaurant closures between now and the end of 2025, with the remaining underperforming restaurants closing thereafter based upon respective franchise agreement termination dates.

• This program does not include the expected 1.5% to 2% of system unit closures for FY 2025, and an ongoing annual closure rate thereafter of approximately 1% of system units beginning in FY 2026.

• Upon completion of the program, Jack in the Box expects to deliver consistent, positive net unit growth, helped by the strong performance of new markets and tremendous whitespace opportunities.

The company's CFO Dawn Hooper talked about its progress on the closure plan in its fourth-quarter earnings call.

"For a quick update on Jack on Track, I will start with the restaurant block closure program. In Q4, we closed 38 restaurants under this initiative, all of which were franchise locations," she said.

In total, the chain closed 47 Jack in the Box locations in Q4, but some were not part of the box closure plan.

CEO Lance Tucker was bullish on the impact of closing restaurants.

"Our restaurant base will be substantially cleaned up with the closure of many of our underperforming restaurants behind us. Sales transferred from closed restaurants will benefit our remaining restaurants, and profitability will be improved," he shared.

Jack in the Box fourth-quarter highlights

• Same-store sales decreased 7.4% in the fourth quarter of 2025, comprised of a decrease in company-operated same-store sales of 5.3% and a decrease in franchise same-store sales of 7.6%. Sales performance was driven by a decrease in transactions and unfavorable menu mix, which was partially offset by menu price increases. Systemwide sales for the fourth quarter decreased 7.2%.

• Del Taco same-store sales of (3.9%) in Q4 2025, (3.7%) for FY 2025

• Diluted earnings per share were $0.30 with an operating EPS of $0.30.

“While performance in the fourth quarter did not meet our expectations, we remain focused on restoring positive momentum for the Jack in the Box brand,” said Tucker in the earnings press release.

Jack in the Box faces real issues

"Jack in the Box’s 2025 will not go down as one of its better years. The company opened the year with the departure of CEO Darin Harris. He was replaced by the recently appointed CFO Lance Tucker," wrote Jonathan Maze at Restaurant Business.

The chain also faces other problems that could derail its turnaround.

"The company unloaded Del Taco, at a substantial decline in value. The activist investor Sardar Biglari is currently gunning for two seats on its board. The company is dealing with higher costs from California labor rates. And then sales fell off a cliff," Maze added.

More Restaurants 

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• Major restaurant chain’s $10.99 burger deals McDonald’s, Wendy’s blow

• McDonald’s is following Wendy’s by closing restaurants

• Regional Mexican restaurant abruptly closes all locations

Oppenheimer analysts are happy with the chain's progress.

"Risk to reward now tilts more favorably — particularly if management successfully executes strategies to improve financial flexibility," Oppenheimer said, Moomoo Technologies reported.

Key goals of the “Jack on Track” plan

• Closing 150-200 underperforming restaurants (about 10% of total units), primarily in California and Texas, with 80-120 closures targeted by the end of 2025.

• Anticipating remaining closures as franchise agreements expire.

• Halting stock dividends and accelerating the sale of company-owned real estate to boost cash flow and focus on debt reduction, with a goal of paying down $300 million in net debt within 12-18 months. Source: Jack in the Box Investor Relations

• Selling the Del Taco brand, aiming to redirect capital to the core Jack in the Box brand and strengthen the balance sheet. Jack in the Box has entered into an agreement to sell Del Taco Holdings Inc., which operates and franchises more than 550 Del Taco restaurants, to Yadav Enterprises Inc. for $115 million in cash, subject to certain adjustments in mid-October. Source: Jack in the Box press release

• Investing in digital modernization, prioritizing new point-of-sale systems, order kiosks, mobile ordering, and third-party delivery (now 18% of sales), to enhance efficiency and customer experience.

• Reimagining existing restaurants through a "mini reimage" program and pausing aggressive expansion to allow for a more financially sustainable remodel strategy.

• Reinforcing operational consistency by retraining teams, focusing on quality, and reviving guest experience initiatives to address same-store sales declines (-4.4% in Q2 2025).

• Prioritizing an “asset-light” model where franchisees own a larger share of the network (now 80% of locations) to improve scalability and long-term profitability.

• Restructuring management with new executives focused on accelerating these business transformations and guiding the multi-phase turnaround.

• Projecting stabilization of core earnings (EBITDA) in 2025 at $282-$292 million, excluding restructuring costs, and aiming for long-term net unit growth after the rationalization phase.​ Source: Jack in the Box Investor Relations

This story was originally reported by TheStreet on Nov 21, 2025, where it first appeared in the Restaurant section. Add TheStreet as a Preferred Source by clicking here.