TL;DR
10 franchise brands, including Specialty's Café & Bakery and Fazoli's, did not survive the COVID-19 pandemic. Specialty's Café & Bakery was forced to close all locations due to decimated revenues from shelter-in-place policies.
2020 showcased a plethora of bankruptcies, restructurings and closings, which led to thousands of businesses closing up shop.
And for brands with small margins, weak brand presence or the inability to pivot, the pandemic left them particularly vulnerable. Below are 10 franchise brands that did not survive the COVID-19 pandemic.
Specialty’s Café & Bakery was founded in 1987 and operated more than 50 cafes in California, Washington and Illinois. Specialty’s was a counter-serve chain cafe that served baked goods & light breakfast and lunch options. After shelter-in-place policies decimated company revenues, stores were forced to close. It announced all locations would be closing effective May 19, 2020.
In this story
This story was originally published in 1851 Franchise on May 25, 2021. Burnaze summarizes and links to the original reporting.
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