This month, burger chain Five Guys is quietly pulling out of four California locations, including two in Los Angeles County, a set of closures that will cost about 55 workers their jobs. The affected restaurants are in Whittier and City of Industry in L.A. County, plus two Central Valley spots in Merced and Hanford. The shutdowns land in the middle of a broader round of restaurant pullbacks across the state as operators wrestle with higher wages and rising operating costs.
State filings reviewed by TheStreet show the company plans to permanently close four stores in Whittier, City of Industry, Merced and Hanford, with staffing levels listed as 13 workers in Whittier, 15 in City of Industry, 13 in Merced and 14 in Hanford. The effective dates are staggered from late May through early July, and the notices add up to roughly 55 job losses. Separate California WARN filings compiled by layoff trackers also list the stores’ addresses and planned closing dates, according to WARNact.
“Financial hardship and increasing business expenses made it impossible to keep the grills fired up at these locations,” Five Guys told the New York Post. That explanation is similar to what franchisees and company operators have been saying as they scrutinize underperforming units. The playbook is familiar in the franchise world, where owners often shutter weaker stores to shore up the rest of the portfolio, even if the timing feels abrupt to regulars and staff who still see a line at the counter…