A POPULAR restaurant chain and rival to Chili’s is set to close one of its stores today, July 9, after 27 years in business.
Local fans of Uno Pizzeria & Grill were informed of the closure in a sad Facebook post.
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The Uno Pizzeria & Grill location in Westborough, Massachusetts — about 30 miles west of Boston — is officially closing today, July 9.
The restaurant alerted customers yesterday with a Facebook publish.
“It is with sadness that we write to let you know that our UNO Pizzeria & Grill location in Westborough will close after dinner on Tuesday, July 9th,” the post began.
“We enjoyed being part of this wonderful community and will greatly miss the friendships and partnerships we made.
“Please visit us for one last breath before we close our doors.”
The chain invited customers to dine at a nearby Uno’s in Framingham, about a 20-minute drive away.
The Westborough location opened in 1997 and has been serving customers for 27 years.
Uno Pizzeria & Grill is an American chain best known for its Chicago-style deep dish pizzas.
The chain has more than 100 locations across the U.S. and competes with restaurants like Chili’s and Olive Garden.
ON THE CUTTING BLOCK
Many popular restaurant chains have closed locations in the first half of 2024, including Red Lobster, Tijuana Flats, Pizza Hut and TGI Friday’s.
The US Sun previously spoke about the trend of restaurant chain closures with Mitchell Olsen, a marketing professor specializing in retail at the University of Notre Dame.
A big factor in the closures is inflation, with the cost of eating out increasing 4% from May 2023 to May 2024.
Olsen explained that rising costs led to closures in two ways, on “both sides of the menu.”
“On the one hand, it is more expensive to operate restaurants due to higher wages and food costs,” he began.
Restaurant Closings in 2024
BOSSes of major restaurant chains have announced a series of restaurant closures. The US Sun 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 dramatically closed 27 stores in April, including some in the state of California.
- Frisch’s Big Boy: Restaurant bosses confirmed the closure of a restaurant in Covington, Kentucky, in April.
- Outback Steakhouse: The chain will close 41 “underperforming” locations this year.
- Two dolars: Four restaurants in Ohio closed in April.
- Pepper: A restaurant in Port Arthur, Texas, has closed permanently, as has another in Irvine, California.
- Friendly: Bosses have confirmed that an establishment in Ronkonkoma, Long Island, will close.
- Pizza Hut: A restaurant in Glen Falls, New York, closed in late March, followed by four in Ohio in June and 15 in Indiana.
- Danny: Two restaurants in Boise and Nampa, Idaho, have closed.
- Carl’s Jr.: The first location in Boise, Idaho, has closed.
- In and out: A location in Oakland closed earlier this year due to crime in the area.
- cheesecake factory: The chain is expected to close a location in Memphis, Tennessee, in July.
- Applebee’s: Announced the closure of between 25 and 35 locations this year.
- Taco John’s: He closed a restaurant in Minnesota and put the building up for sale in May.
- Rubio’s Coastal Grill: Announced the closure of 48 locations in California after filing for bankruptcy.
- Burger King: It closed a California location in June after 30 years.
“On the other hand, it is becoming increasingly difficult to pass on these higher operating expenses to customers with increasingly higher menu prices.”
Expensive dinners cause consumers to limit their spending.
“Consumers are starting to resist the high cost of dining out, thinking twice before having that aperitif or going to a restaurant,” said the expert.
Inflation is a driving factor in the closure of many restaurants, but it has impacted different chains in various ways.
For example, chains like Outback and Applebee’s cited poor performance as the main reason for their closures, for Forbes.
Locations that do not meet sales and profit standards are being closed.
Meanwhile, other chains like Boston Market, Red Lobster and Tijuana Flats are closing due to financial instability, inability to pay bills, landlord disputes and bankruptcy.
In related news, an Italian chain with 200 restaurants abruptly closed a location and removed signs.
Additionally, Arby’s will be replaced by Jack in the Box after confirming the closure and telling customers “this is it.”
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
