Checkers and Rally's Closed 91 Stores in Three Years, Filing Shows

Checkers and Rally's shuttered a combined 91 locations between fiscal 2023 and the end of fiscal 2025, according to an amended franchise disclosure document filed last week by Checkers Drive-In Restaurants, Inc., the privately held parent of both burger chains.

The Checkers brand bore the larger share of the contraction. Checkers operated 516 outlets at the start of 2023, counting both company-owned and franchisee-owned stores. By the end of fiscal 2025, that count had fallen to 453 — a net loss of 63 locations over three years.

Franchisees drove most of the decline at Checkers. The three-year period saw a net loss of 52 franchised stores, compared with a net loss of just 11 company-owned stores, according to the filing.

Rally's shrank at a slower pace but with a different pattern. The chain counted 294 company-owned and franchised locations at the start of 2023 and 266 at the end of 2025 — a net loss of 28 stores. Company-owned units accounted for 24 of those losses, while franchised stores declined by a net 4.

Where the Checkers closures hit hardest

The franchise disclosure document breaks net Checkers losses down by state for the 2023-2025 period. Georgia and Florida top the list:

• Georgia: -13
• Texas: -12
• Florida: -10
• Illinois: -9
• Tennessee: -9
• New York: -8
• Alabama: -6
• Michigan: -4
• Mississippi: -4
• North Carolina: -2
• Virginia: -1

Rally's losses concentrated in California

California posted the steepest Rally's decline over the same window:

• California: -11
• Indiana: -8
• Ohio: -4
• Kentucky: -3
• Louisiana: -3
• Missouri: -3
• Alabama: -1
• Mississippi: -1

Why the stores closed

The filing attributes the majority of closures to a category it labels "Ceased Operations – Other Reasons" — a catchall that can cover everything from voluntary shutdowns to liquidity problems at the franchisee level. The document offers no more specific breakdown.

The contraction is not one-sided. Both brands opened locations during the period, which softened the net loss figures. And the company still sees room to grow: as of the end of last year, Checkers expected to open 12 more locations in 2026, while Rally's planned an additional 4 restaurants.

Checkers and Rally's are not outliers in the current restaurant environment. Since the pandemic, chains across fast food and fast casual have faced lower foot traffic, higher operating costs, and customers who have grown more selective about discretionary spending as inflationary pressures persist. Over the past month alone, Wendy's, Burger King, and TGI Fridays have all seen locations close.

Fast Company has reached out to Checkers Drive-In Restaurants for comment.

The amended FDD, a legal requirement for any U.S. company selling franchises, offers prospective franchisees the clearest picture yet of the two brands' trajectory — and it will land in front of new investors just as the company bets on modest expansion to stabilize its footprint in 2026.