Global Fast Casual Guzman y Gomez Pulls Out of U.S. After Struggling to Gain Sales Momentum

Guzman y Gomez has exited the U.S. market after concluding its Chicago restaurants were unlikely to deliver the level of performance needed to justify continued investment.

The Australia-based fast casual announced May 22 that it would immediately cease operating its U.S. restaurants, ending a yearslong attempt to establish a foothold in one of the world’s most competitive restaurant markets.

The decision follows months of internal evaluation and comes despite what leadership described as meaningful progress in brand awareness, guest experience, and operations.

Founder and co-CEO Steven Marks said he spent the last three months in the U.S. assessing the business firsthand before concluding that the turnaround would require substantially more time and capital than expected.

“I have always been confident in the differentiation of our food and guest experience, however this was not translating to an improvement in sales momentum,” Marks said in the announcement.

The chain expects the shutdown to result in a one-time P&L impact between $30 million and $40 million in fiscal 2026.

GYG had eight Chicagoland restaurants in Naperville, Schaumburg, Crystal Lake, Buffalo Grove, Deerfield, Evanston, Des Plaines, and Bucktown. The brand first arrived in the U.S. in January 2020.

The move appears to be a quick shift in strategy. In late April, the brand announced that it was accelerating U.S. expansion, including three new Chicago area stores in Lincoln Square, Naperville, and Lakeview. The chain also appointed Joseph Devlin as U.S. marketing director and Kathryn Fechner as head of catering.

The company framed the decision less as a rejection of the brand’s international potential and more as a capital allocation decision. Leadership emphasized that the U.S. business failed to meet the financial thresholds necessary to prove the concept at a scalable level, even as the company continued seeing positive indicators around food quality and customer reception.

“In assessing the trajectory of the current network, the Board and I have concluded that the business is unlikely to deliver the performance that would justify continued investment of shareholder capital,” Marks said.

The retreat underscores the difficulty many international restaurant brands face when entering the U.S. market, particularly in the crowded fast-casual segment where consumers already have extensive options across Mexican and burrito-focused concepts. While GYG built a strong reputation in Australia around fresh ingredients, speed, and digital convenience, translating that momentum stateside proved far more difficult.

The company is now concentrating resources on its home market, where it continues to see strong restaurant economics and significant whitespace for expansion.

GYG said its Australian business remains in a “solid position,” supported by strong sales growth, a growing real estate pipeline, and favorable unit economics. The company reiterated its long-term goal of reaching 1,000 restaurants in Australia.

The company stressed that it still believes in international expansion under the right conditions. It pointed to continued momentum in Singapore and Japan, where master franchise partners are producing strong sales growth and healthy unit economics. Singapore recently opened its 24th restaurant, and both markets are planning additional openings over the next year.