‘I’m upset,’ customers say as restaurant chain with 152 outlets closes 13 – execs blame ‘rising cost of doing business’

The closure of several Rubio’s Coastal Grills has upset many customers who say the restaurant chain is a staple in their area.

Customers are speaking out after 13 locations closed their doors in and around San Diego.

two

The restaurant chain closed a total of 48 underperforming locations across California as of May 31, with 13 located in the San Diego area.

“The closures were driven by the rising cost of doing business in California,” a spokesperson told the local CBS affiliate. KFMB-TV.

“While painful, the store closures are a necessary step in our long-term strategic plan to position Rubio’s for success in the years to come.”

Painful is the right word to describe how many customers have accepted, with several expressing their sadness at the abrupt closures.

“I’m upset they’re closing, I go there at least once a week. I mean, they’re a San Diego staple,” Rubio’s customer Chris Hoyh told KFMB-TV.

“I’m sure a lot of businesses are going through the same issues,” San Diegan Joe Garrie told the outlet.

“We are overwhelmed, overwhelmed, everything in San Diego is more than anywhere else.”

“It’s sad to see that it’s a good quality company that can’t keep all of their Rubio’s open,” another customer, Donna Bravo, told KFMB-TV.

Eighty-six stores in California, Arizona and Nevada are Still openaccording to a spokesperson for Rubio’s Coastal Grill, per KFMB-TV.

CHAIN ​​OF CLOSURES

A Rubio’s Coastal Grill location recently closed after missing a few months of rent payments.

El Dorado Hills’ closure came after the venue cited difficulties in the rising costs of running a restaurant in California.

She put a “pay or quit in three days” sign on the door and abandoned the storefront after just one day.

And a Rubio’s in Fresno closed without warning, handing workers their paychecks and ordering them to leave.

“I’m heartbroken for the employees and the families this affects,” said Larissa Clark, a Fresno resident who frequented the local Rubio’s. KMPH-TV.

Restaurant Closings in 2024

BOSSes of major restaurant chains have announced a series of restaurant closures. The US Sun has compiled a list of those affected by the network.

• Biscuit Barrel: Stores in Medford, Oregon, Columbia, South Carolina and Sacramento, California, closed.
• Mod Pizza: Bosses drastically closed 27 stores, including in the state of California.
• Frisch’s Big Boy: Restaurant bosses have confirmed the closure of a restaurant in Covington, Kentucky.
• Two dolars: Four restaurants in Ohio are set to close.
• Pepper: A restaurant in Port Arthur, Texas, has closed permanently.
• Friendly: Bosses have confirmed that an establishment in Ronkonkoma, Long Island, will close.
• Pizza Hut: A restaurant in Glen Falls, New York, closed at the end of March.
• Danny: Two restaurants in Boise and Nampa, Idaho, have closed.
• Carl’s Jr.: The first location in Boise, Idaho, has closed.

“What a terrible thing to do to these employees,” Suzelle Smith Kasaian wrote on Facebook.

It also closed its Folosom location due to complications similar to those at El Dorado Hills, citing rising costs in California, KXTV.

The Carlsbad-based chain, known for its fish tacos, started in Mission Bay in 1983.

Rubio’s has 152 U.S. locations in total.

Arby’s broke the news that it is closing the doors of one of its locations in Pennsylvania.

Additionally, Applebee’s is saying goodbye to its Hudson, New York, customers after a decade of service.