For many Americans, eating out has become a luxury.
Some people have been trading down, while others have decided to eat at home more often.
In my decades of covering restaurants, I’ve never seen a period where consumers have been hit by both high prices and a challenging economy. Even some higher-income consumers have become more cautious with spending because of rising costs, an unpredictable job market, and broader economic uncertainty.
“Survey data shows that three out of 10 Americans have reduced their spending at retail stores and are dining out at restaurants less frequently than a year ago,” according to an S&P Global Data report from March.
Prices have played a large role in keeping Americans away from restaurants.
“Consumer prices for food away from home increased 39.3% from January 2019 to January 2026. By comparison, the index increased 19.2% across the previous seven years, from January 2012 to January 2019,” according to another S&P Global Data report.
Almost half of U.S. restaurant operators, however, have seen their sales climb.
“Forty-six percent of restaurant operators reported lower traffic in March, compared to 30% in February.” according to the National Restaurant Association’s monthly tracking survey.
Rising prices have put pressure on restaurant visits.
“These higher prices have caused customer traffic to U.S. restaurants to decline for two straight years, with only modest growth projected for 2026,” Rich Shank, senior principal and vice president of innovation with Technomic, told S&P Global. “Growth is really challenging, and consumers are definitely changing their behavior.”
That environment has forced some restaurant chains to close locations, and now another popular Mexican chain, Guzman y Gomez Mexican Kitchen, has closed all its U.S. restaurants.
Guzman y Gomez Mexican Kitchen offered a “clean” take on Mexican
When you visit the Guzman y Gomez Mexican Kitchen website, you’re greeted with a simple message: “All GYG USA restaurants permanently closed.” The page says all U.S. locations closed on May 22 and thanks customers for their support.
The company, founded in Australia, offered what it described as “clean” Mexican food. Its Australian website touts no added preservatives, no artificial flavors, no added colors, and no unacceptable additives.
Guzman y Gomez Mexican Kitchen founders Steven Marks and Robert Hazan are native New Yorkers, so they considered their 2020 opening in the U.S. as a return home.
“We both grew up in New York and it’s always been our dream to bring the brand back to the U.S.,” Marks told Business News Australia. “We have looked at sites all over the U.S. for a number of years, and we were really particular about it because we knew our first restaurant in the U.S. had to be special.”
The company opted to build out its U.S. brand starting in the Chicago area.
Its founders, who operated 135 Australian locations of Guzman y Gomez at the time they opened the first U.S. location, had big plans for their home market.
“We intend on opening hundreds, if not thousands of GYG locations across the U.S.,” they told the Australian business publication.
That dream has now ended, at least for now, with the closure of its U.S. restaurants.
Guzman y Gomez Mexican Kitchen closes all U.S. restaurants
A public company on the Australian stock exchange, Guzman y Gomez had made American expansion a key part of its business plan.
“The U.S. business had very low prospects of being successful, and the losses of the business were weighing down the earnings of the group so the sooner exit than anticipated is positive,” RBC Capital Markets analyst Michael Toner told Reuters.
Its U.S. shutdown was a surprise because it had recently reiterated plans to grow its American presence.
“The decision is an abrupt reversal from the company’s assurances as recently as February that it would stick with the market of 350 million people, where rival Chipotle has some 4,000 stores. GYG had eyed a gradual rollout there starting in Chicago, while aiming to match McDonald’s for store numbers in Australia,” according to Reuters.
Some analysts thought the U.S. expansion plan was not a good idea.
Guzman y Gomez shared the shutdown news on its Instagram page.
“To every guest who came through our doors — you chose us, and we never took that for granted. To our team — thank you. Your passion and your purpose built something special,” the post said. “If you’re ever in Australia, Singapore or Japan, come find us — we’ll have your favs waiting for you. Chicagoland, Thank you!”
The company operated eight U.S. restaurants, all in the Chicago area.
Marks had spent the past three months in the U.S. trying to grow the brand’s sales. He shared the rationale behind the closure in an Australian Stock Exchange announcement.
“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. Having spent the last 3 months in the U.S., I realized this was going to take significantly more time and capital than we had expected,” he said.
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The company co-founder believed that continuing was not worth the expense.
“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,” he added.
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Guzman y Gomez shares the financial impact of leaving the U.S.
As a result of the decision to exit the U.S., GYG expects to recognize a one-off P&L impact of between $30 million and $40 million in its 2026 full-year results, subject to the audit review process.
The cash component of these exit costs (included in above) is not expected to exceed $15 million and relates to the future payment of lease liabilities, employee costs, contractual commitments, and other exit costs.
These one-off items are not expected to impact Guzman y Gomez’s final dividend for FY26.
The company said leaving the U.S. would not affect its expansion plans in Singapore and Japan.
“The decision to exit the U.S. does not alter the Board’s conviction in the global appeal of the GYG brand, or in the long-term opportunity to expand into new geographies in a disciplined and deliberate manner…. Our master franchise partners continue to deliver strong sales growth and healthy unit economics,” the company shared.
Both markets are expected to add new restaurants over the next 12 months.
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