Popular restaurant to close 72 venues across country by end of 2025

One of the biggest American burger chain is closing its stores as “soaring beef costs and customers frustrated with its prices take their toll”.

Jack In The Box, the 74-year-old hamburger joint with restaurants in California, Arizona and Texas, said it would shut between 80 and 120 restaurants by the end of the year as it tried to stop some serious financial bleeding. 

In April, CEO Lance Tucker rolled out the company’s so-called ‘Jack on Track’ turnaround plan, which called for closing 150 to 200 underperforming stores between April 2025 and mid-2026.

Earlier this year, Jack In The Box said it closed 12 locations and another 13 were shut by August, followed by 47 more closures reported in the company’s November earnings, the Daily Mail reported

That brings the total to 72 — still short of the lowest year-end target, with just over a week left on the calendar. 

The Daily Mail also wrote that the company has been facing higher beef prices and nearly six times as much debt as it generates in annual earnings. In the last quarter alone, Jack In The Box reported a net loss of $80.7million. 

In 2022, Jack In The Box bought Del Taco for $585million. Last quarter, it sold the brand to a franchisee for just $115million, taking a massive loss on the deal. All told, the company is now saddled with $1.7billion in debt, while losing cash each quarter, the Daily Mail also wrote.

Nick Setyan, managing director at Mizuho Americas, said Jack In The Box is effectively in “survival mode,” according to Restaurant Dive.

He blamed the company’s aggressive price hikes during the pandemic, when consumers were flush with stimulus cash and willing to spend more.

“That worked for about two to three years,’ Setyan said quoted by the Daily Mail. “They were trying to drive a harder bargain than they probably should have.”

The Daily Express has contacted Jack In The Box for a comment.