The popular 56-year-old fast food chain is closing more than 700 locations
The restaurant industry has faced a number of economic problems over the past five years that have resulted in restaurant closings and bankruptcy filings.
Some fast food chains, such as Long John Silver’s, have reduced their business since the Great Recession in 2008.
Recently, as inflation has increased labor and food costs since the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, menu prices have also increased significantly, discouraging diners.
Rising costs lead to shutdowns
Labor and food costs increased by 35% from 2019 to 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and restaurants tend to pass the additional costs on to their customers with menu prices increasing by an average of 31% from February 2020 to April 2025, reports the National Restaurant Association.
Rising restaurant costs have contributed to sluggish sales, which have reached the lowest growth rate since the Great Recession of 2008, not counting the Covid pandemic, according to the 2026 Technomic Top 500 Restaurant Chain report.
“It was a very weak year for the Top 500 overall from a sales perspective,” said Joe Pawlak, managing principal at Technomic, according to Restaurant Business.
Long John Silver’s is closing 100 locations
The challenging restaurant environment has led 57-year-old fast-casual restaurant chain Long John Silver’s to close nearly 706 restaurants nationwide since the Great Recession in 2008.
The fast-casual seafood restaurant, which launched in Lexington, Ky., in 1969, had 1,081 locations in 2007, but began to decline the following year, closing 59 locations as the financial crisis began to affect the restaurant industry.
Restaurants filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy
Some of the restaurant victims in the first year of the financial crisis included Starbucks, which closed more than 600 locations, according to CBS News, and the owner of the Bennigan’s and Steak & Ale chains, S&A Restaurant Corp., which filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2008, Reuters reported at the time.
Bennigan’s and Steak & Ale’ franchisees did not file for bankruptcy at the time.
Long John Silver continued to close more restaurants in the following years, closing 33 in 2009, 25 in 2010, 32 in 2011, 21 each year in 2012 and 2013, then a total of 75 closings in 2014, ending the year 15 QSR with 8 units.
The chain has 375 locations after closing
Over the next 10 years, Long John Silver closed 330 locations, ending in 2024 with 485 restaurants. The fast-food chain has closed another 110 units in the past year and a half, and its website lists 375 stores at last count.
