McDonald's is unexpectedly closing another restaurant

McDonald's is preparing to adjacent yet different edifice successful a substance of days, adding to a increasing inclination among large fast-food chains that person been rapidly shrinking their footprints successful caller months.

Rising costs, evolving user habits, and accrued contention are putting unit connected beloved brands that were erstwhile considered imperishable fixtures of American culture.

However, there's much to this unexpected closure than meets the eye, sparking contention among staff.

McDonald's (MCD) has confirmed to TheStreet via email that it volition permanently adjacent its edifice astatine 900 West Avenue successful Ocean City, New Jersey, connected December 14, 2025.

"After 47 years of serving the Ocean City community, the 900 W Ave. edifice is closing. I'm profoundly thankful to our loyal customers and to our hardworking unit members who amusement up each time with dedication to service our community," said McDonald’s Owner/Operator Pat Powers successful an emailed connection to TheStreet.

All employees are being offered positions astatine different McDonald's locations successful the country done January 15, 2026, and astir person already accepted caller roles.

New Jersey has astir 250 McDonald's restaurants, each of which are locally owned and operated.

Not everyone is satisfied with however the process is being handled. Linda Romain, a three-year worker and manager, has been vocal astir the McDonald's Ocean City closure and criticized the abbreviated announcement provided to staff.

"The McDonald's constitution successful Ocean City should beryllium embarrassed astir its handling of the closure," wrote Romain connected a Facebook station connected December 10. "With months of notice, providing lone 4 days' informing to employees and customers is inadequate. The timing, conscionable earlier Christmas, exacerbates the issue. McDonald's firm bureau whitethorn privation to reappraisal the absorption practices of this location."

Romain told The Press of Atlantic City that she believes the institution was alert of the shutdown for months but waited until the past infinitesimal to pass its employees. Around 20 radical volition beryllium affected, she added.

The closure appears to stem chiefly from the gathering wherever the Ocean City McDonald's is located, which was constructed successful 1968. It reportedly requires extended renovations that are nary longer financially viable. According to Romain and different employee, workers were informed that the gathering is apt to beryllium demolished and replaced.

The Ocean City shutdown follows different caller closure, connected November 30, astatine 1330 Jackson St. successful Oakland, California, which impacted astir 26 unit members.

Employees astatine the McDonald's Oakland store assertion they were notified conscionable days earlier Thanksgiving, which led to a idiosyncratic onslaught connected November 25. However, the WARN notice indicated the closure was filed connected October 30, 2025.

"I've made the hard determination to adjacent my Jackson Street edifice connected November 30. My enactment is thankful to the section assemblage for their years of support, and to our hardworking unit members who showed up each time to service our customers," said McDonald's Owner/Operator Joseph Wong successful a connection to The Street.

The closures travel arsenic McDonald's and different fast-food giants look mounting challenges, including slower lawsuit traffic, income declines, rising nutrient prices, and weaker spending from cost-conscious consumers.

More Restaurant Closures:

• 17-year-old Mexican concatenation closes astir restaurants aft ICE raids

• 37-year-old Italian edifice concatenation softly closes astir locations

• Popular java concatenation closing its office aft bankruptcy

Fast-food prices person accrued betwixt 39% and 100% from 2014 to 2024, acold outpacing the national inflation rate of 33% during the aforesaid period, according to Finance Buzz.

McDonald's prices unsocial person risen by 100% since 2014, with immoderate paper items much than doubling successful terms implicit the past decade.

This contributed to a 1% driblet successful nutrient work postulation for the 4th ending June 2025, according to Circana.

To combat these trends, McDonald's has expanded worth offerings, including the McValue menu, Extra Value Meals, and $5 Meal Deals.

"In effect to the decreasing nutrient dollar and the empowered customer, restaurants are turning to innovative concern and operating models to drawback a greater stock of the market," said KPMG Restaurant Segment Leader Paul Fultz and Strategy Leader of Consumer Markets Joel Rampoldt successful a study.

The institution besides launched the Restaurant Experience Team successful March, bringing unneurotic operations, supply chain, franchising, development, edifice design, delivery, and Speedee Labs to thrust innovation and efficiency.

Additionally, McDonald's is focusing connected increasing its planetary footprint by establishing caller locations, arsenic good arsenic upgrading existing restaurants and modernizing its instrumentality and technology.

However, modernization often means closing restaurants that are excessively deteriorated to renovate, similar its Ocean City location.

• Extended its integer beingness to implicit 185 cardinal 90-day progressive users crossed 60 markets

• Loyalty customers generated astir $30 billion successful systemwide income successful 2024

• Global comparable income accrued 3.6% successful the third 4th of fiscal 2025, with U.S. comparable income up 2.4%.

Despite improvement, the institution remains cautious.

"We proceed to stay cautious astir the wellness of the user successful the U.S. and our apical planetary markets and judge the pressures volition proceed good into 2026," said McDonald’s CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski successful an earnings call. "It's a foundational anticipation of our marque to bring consumers done our doors and support them coming back."

McDonald's is not the lone concatenation closing locations; its competitors are besides shrinking their nationwide footprints.

• Arby's: At least 14 locations closed crossed 8 states.

• Burger King (QSR): Shuttered aggregate locations aft 1 of its franchisees filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April.

• Wendy's (WEN): Plans to adjacent approximately 300 restaurants nationwide done 2026.

• Hardee's:Shuttered stores successful astatine slightest 7 cities successful Illinois and has already made respective closures successful 2025 crossed assorted states.

• Carl's Jr.:Closed aggregate U.S. locations successful caller months and much than 20 restaurants successful Australia past year.
  Source: TheStreet

"Consumers are saying, 'We're struggling, oregon we're opening to conflict oregon we’re reasoning much cautiously astir what we spend,'" said Harvard Business School Consultant and Lecturer connected Restaurants Michael S. Kaufman. "I don't cognize that the quality to support the ample fleets of accepted casual eating restaurants tin continue."

Related: McDonald's and Burger King vacation promotions spark large backlash

This communicative was primitively published by TheStreet connected Dec 12, 2025, wherever it archetypal appeared successful the Employment section. Add TheStreet arsenic a Preferred Source by clicking here.