McDonald’s Will Permanently Close 200 U.S. Locations Because of the Coronavirus

Today is a sad day for Big Mac lovers: McDonald’s announced it has plans to permanently close 200 locations in the U.S. due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

According to the Financial Times, the fast-food giant is currently coping with its lowest quarterly profits in 13 years, with a net income drop of 68%. 

“In many markets around the world, most of notably in the U.S., the public health situation appears to be worsening,” Chris Kempczinski, CEO of McDonald’s, said to analysts, according to CNBC. “Nonetheless, I believe that Q2 represents the trough in our performance as McDonald’s has learned to adjust our operations to this new environment.

“I’m certainly not qualified to make any predictions around whether we’re going to be in recession or not, but I'd certainly say there’s a lot of warning signs out there that would suggest that the consumer sentiment and consumer concerns about the economy is negative and going in the wrong direction,” Kempczinski added.

Sadly, this is on par with many chains and stores around the country. Restaurants like IHOP, Denny’s, Ruby Tuesday, and TGI Fridays have recently shuttered certain locations due to COVID-19. And the list of retail closings continues to grow.

There may be some light at the end of the tunnel for McDonald’s, though. According to People, company CFO Kevin Ozan said there was a slight uptick in sales for July, so maybe these 200 closings will be the worst of it.

It’s unclear which 200 restaurants are getting the boot, but my sincerest condolences if it’s your neighborhood spot. For many of us, stopping by a place like McDonald’s or even Zara is a ritual. They’re American institutions and feel familiar. Let’s all just take comfort in the fact that this too shall pass. And until then, use this as an opportunity to order yourself some fries. 

Originally Appeared on Glamour