Americans have changed some of their habits when it comes to the comfort food they’re turning to in darker moments.
You can blame health trends, diet drugs, and changing tastes on the trend that has caused Denny’s to close over 100 locations, while Cracker Barrel saw comparable-store sales drop by 7.2% in its most recent quarter.
“A national consumer survey and Pinterest insights reveal that consumers are moving away from traditional comfort foods in favor of meals that are healthy, locally sourced, and easy to prepare. The research also shows that Americans (68%), and especially parents (74%), are more concerned about what goes into the food they’re feeding their families compared to previous generations,” according to the survey.
Dining trends change, and restaurants built around a classic menu like Denny’s and Cracker Barrel have struggled. And while it’s not as high-profile a brand, another comfort food chain has quietly been shrinking its profile.
MCL Restaurant & Bakery, a 76-year-old, cafeteria-style buffet chain, is closing several locations in March, according to local news station Fox 59 and social media posts.
MCL Restaurant & Bakery has struggled
When Denny’s made the decision to close around 150 restaurants, it was still a public company, so it had to share its plans with investors.
Denny’s CEO Kelli F. Valade updated shareholders on her company’s plan to close more restaurants during its second-quarter earnings call.
“I also want to take a moment and provide an update on our previously communicated strategy to close underperforming restaurants and return to pre-pandemic growth of flat to slightly positive in future years. The surgical and methodical approach, which began in 2023 and will be completed by the end of this year, was specifically designed to optimize and enhance the overall health of the franchise system with the goal of returning to net flat to positive growth by 2026,” she shared.
As a private company, MCL Restaurant & Bakery does not have to share its closure plans. The chain, however, has been steadily shrinking for years.
MCL Restaurant has quietly closed most of its restaurants
The recent closures will bring the chain’s footprint to seven locations.
MCL ended 2024 with 13 locations and $25.7 million in sales (a 2% increase year over year), according to Technomic data.
While the company is not required to share financial information as a privately held company, it did respond to questions on its Facebook page.
The chain blamed the closure of one location on “revenues not being where they need to be to cover operating cost.”
MCL Restaurant & Bakery also confirmed a March 29 closure date for the locations in Whitehall, Muncie, and Indianapolis’s Irvington neighborhood.
“These decisions come after a lot of careful consideration and years of declining sales in certain markets,” the company wrote.
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During the 1980s and early 1990s, MCL Restaurant & Bakery reached its peak of approximately 30 locations throughout the Midwest. By 2004, the chain’s footprint was down to 22 locations, and it has been steadily declining since, with 17 restaurants at the end of 2014, and 13 at the end of 2019, according to Nation’s Restaurant News.
The company shows 10 remaining locations on its website, but that still includes at least three slated to close.
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Many more restaurants face closure risk
Rising costs, changing consumer tastes, and the struggling economy have put many restaurants at risk.
“New data from Black Box Intelligence has unveiled some cause for concern about full-service restaurant performance in the coming year. The performance and analytics company compared 2025 restaurant sales against their peak annual performance since 2019 and found that 9% of all full-service units are considered at risk for closure in 2026,” NRN shared.
Restaurants face the dual problem of rising costs and dropping customer counts.
“In an environment where cumulative inflation has driven costs up by nearly a third since 2019, it is virtually impossible for a unit to remain viable after losing 30% or more of its peak sales,” Black Box vice president of insights and knowledge Victor Fernandez told NRN.
Rising costs have created a challenging situation for restaurant operators, according to Restaurant365’s 2025 State of the Restaurant Industry Midyear Report.
Key findings include:
- 91% of restaurant leaders reported food cost increases in 2025 so far.
- A majority (82%) saw costs rise between 1% and 5%.
- Another 36% experienced hikes between 6% and 14%.
- And 13% reported spikes of 15% or more.
“Rising food costs are forcing us to rethink everything — suppliers, portion sizes, even which dishes deserve to stay on the menu,” one operator shared in the survey. “The goal is to keep margins intact while still giving guests value.”
Related: Discount chain closes over 75 stores and raises prices
