‘It’s been a great run’ says iconic fast-food chain with 1,000 branches as it’s shutting store in DAYS
A MAJOR fast-food chain with 1,000 restaurants has confirmed it’s shutting one of its branches in Scotland.
KFC will be closing its Livingstone Street restaurant in Glasgow within days.
Locals will have until January 21 to get some fried chicken from the branch after which, their nearest branch will be in Great Western Retail Park.
Locals took to Facebook after hearing the news, with many saying it didn’t come as much of a surprise.
One user said: “Been a few shutting.”
“Used to be good years ago,” said another.
A third user commented: “They’re chickening out…”
“Sad,” said someone else.
A KFC spokesperson told The Sun: “It’s been a great run at our Livingstone Street restaurant, but sadly all good things must come to an end.
“Our amazing team members are now joining nearby restaurants, ready to serve our loyal fans their next fried chicken fix.
“The nearest restaurant is Great Western Retail Park – see you there!”
We have already seen another KFC close this year.
The fast food favourite shut its restaurant in The Avenue Retail Park on Weaverthorpe Road in Bradford.
Plus locations in Dorset and Bangor and closed their doors for the final time in October.
Loved for its chicken buckets and gravy, it’s not the only change at KFC restaurants.
The company announced in December, 2023, that it will takeover existing KFC outlets that are owned by the EG Group – a franchisee and sister company of supermarket Asda.
There are 218 locations in the UK and Ireland which will be run by the company directly by this summer.
Collectively these branches employ 7,800 staff.
At the time, KFC division chief executive Sabir Sami, said: “We’re pleased to add these restaurants to our equity portfolio, in a market where we are well placed to drive strong growth while also making further digital and strategic progress.”
In a franchise model, a business sells a licence to a third-party (franchisee) to trade under the brand name.
Franchises are separate legal entities, which means their owners have freedom to do things like set pay and conditions for their employees.
Many restaurant chains have been struggling to get by over the past few years.
Energy costs have risen and more shoppers are choosing to conveniently order online rather than head into stores.
This has left some retailers grappling with tighter budgets and having no choice but to close some stores to cut costs.
The Sun exclusively revealed that another fast food favourite with over 500 locations Papa Johns, plans to close dozens of branches as it “optimises” its operations.
Taco Bell who hasn’t been on the scene long pulled down the shutters on a drive-thru restaurant in Aberdeen.
Patisserie Valerie has already closed 170 branches in the past few months.
Costa Coffee is due to shut two cafes but the end of January this year.
Even Wetherspoon has struggled to brace the storm with 40 pubs closing down last and as many as 20 preparing to shut this year.
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