Popular fast-food chain closes 3 Triangle restaurants. Which ones & why
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Wendy’s closed three Triangle restaurants over the past four months.
- Two Raleigh locations and one Cary restaurant have closed.
- Wendy’s announced plans to close 5%-6% of U.S. restaurants in early 2026.
A popular fast-food chain has closed three Triangle locations over the past four months.
Wendy’s, which has dozens of restaurants in the Triangle, has shut down two Raleigh locations and one Cary store since December.
The locations at 8209 Creedmoor Road and 4105 Wake Forest Road in Raleigh and at 1213 NW Maynard Road in Cary are no longer listed on the company’s store locator. The two Raleigh locations were included on the company’s website as recently as mid-December, and the Cary store as of mid-January.
Known for burgers and signature Frosty desserts, Wendy’s announced in February that it planned to close 5%-6% of its U.S. restaurants in the first half of 2026. The Dublin, Ohio-based chain had 5,969 locations nationwide as of the end of 2025.
Sales at U.S. stores open at least a year declined by around 11% in the October-December period, according to the company.
The News & Observer has reached out to Wendy’s for comment.
It is unclear what will happen to the bygone Wendy’s locations in the Triangle. As of Wednesday morning, April 15, windows of the Wake Forest Road restaurant have been boarded up, and barricades prevent drivers from accessing the property.
Wendy’s now has 10 Raleigh locations and three in Cary.
Fast food closures
Wendy’s is not the only national restaurant chain to shut down hundreds of U.S. locations this year.
Pizza Hut said in February that it would close 250 “underperforming” locations within the first six months of 2026, or around 3% of its U.S. footprint, CNN reported.
Papa Johns will also close about 200 North America locations in 2026, according to CNN.
