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Fuddruckers became the 'Blockbuster' of burgers, and now it's nearly gone
By Teresa Mull
Published May 28, 2026
Despite claiming to serve the "world's greatest hamburgers," Fuddruckers has shrunk from hundreds of locations nationwide to just 44 restaurants today.
"Fuddruckers is the Blockbuster of the burger world," Las Vegas-based business coach Brad Sugars told Fox News Digital.
Restaurateur Phil Romano, founder of Romano's Macaroni Grill, opened the first Fuddruckers in Texas in 1979, and the chain expanded rapidly during the 1980s.
Fuddruckers had 150 locations by 1988 and operated hundreds at its peak over the next decade, according to Tasting Table.
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The company began to struggle and changed owners multiple times.
Luby's acquired Fuddruckers in 2010 after its parent company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
The fast-casual burger chain Fuddruckers once had hundreds of restaurants nationwide but now operates fewer than 50 locations. (iStock)
Luby's announced it would liquidate Fuddruckers in 2020, and entrepreneur Nicholas Perkins — through his Houston-based company, Black Titan Franchise Systems — bought the chain in 2021 for a reported $18.5 million.
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"I think with a new, reinvigorated management team, with a strategic plan ... we are going to be able to put our brand on offense and not be so much on the defense like we have been in recent years," Perkins told the Houston Chronicle at the time.
"The more important question isn't why there are fewer locations now, but whether the brand still exists."
Perkins told Fox News Digital that Fuddruckers was "on the brink of extinction" when his company purchased it.
"The more important question isn't why there are fewer locations now, but whether the brand still exists," Perkins said. "The answer is yes — an entrepreneur bought and preserved it when many thought it was finished, and now it's on the rise again."
The COVID-19 pandemic took its toll on Fuddruckers, as it did on many restaurants. The National Restaurant Association reported that six months into the pandemic, 100,000 restaurants had closed — either permanently or long-term.
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Sugars, who owns two restaurants, said Fuddruckers failed to adapt to changing customer preferences — both in the food consumers want and how they want to consume it.
"One of the biggest challenges in the restaurant game is moving with the times, and the bigger the business, the harder it is," Sugars said. "It's a rare brand that continues over 10, 20, 30, 40 years without changing."
Entrepreneur Nicholas Perkins' company acquired Fuddruckers, which he said was "on the brink of extinction" when he took over in 2021. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)
Sugars pointed to Domino's as an example of a restaurant chain that listened to customers and evolved accordingly.
After admitting its pizza quality had declined, Domino's improved its food while adding wings, pizza bites, hot sandwiches and other menu items, Sugars said.
The company also built customer loyalty by becoming "a technology company that sells pizza," Sugars said — while creating an app that's "way better" than competitors.
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"In a world where delivery is now something everyone expects from every restaurant, Domino's went from competing with other pizza companies to competing with every single type of food that can be delivered from Postmates, Grubhub, etc.," he said.
Domino's has also invested in researching customer habits, Sugars said. Much like Amazon, Domino's knows "what you're going to buy and when," allowing it to target consumers more effectively.
Domino's is an example of a restaurant that has changed with the times and offered consumers what they want, such as easy ordering on an app, a business coach said. (Craig Warga/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
"I don't see a Fuddruckers app," Sugars said.
Still, Fuddruckers hasn't gone away. A new location opened in Washington, D.C., in March 2025, and upcoming openings in Virginia and Massachusetts are planned for 2027, Perkins said.
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"We are also in discussions for a multi-unit franchise in Dallas-Fort Worth and reviewing hundreds of franchise inquiries," he said.
A Reddit forum a year ago asked, "What happened to Fuddruckers? I thought the food was really good, but it looks like they are all closing."
Fuddruckers used to be everywhere, from furniture stores to standalone buildings. Now, only 44 locations remain, although more are planned. (Gregory Rec/Portland Press Herald via Getty Images)
Commenters suggested Fuddruckers' large, warehouse-style atmosphere — similar to a "theme restaurant" — fell out of favor with customers.
Someone who claimed to have managed the first franchise wrote that "specialized concepts have a shelf life. As unique as the original Fudds was, it probably ran its course."
Not so, according to Perkins.
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"Fuddruckers has been serving guests for more than four decades," he told Fox News Digital.
"It has weathered a near collapse after overexpansion in the 1980s, a corporate bankruptcy in 2010 and a planned liquidation in 2020, and it is still standing today. That continued presence is evidence not of failure, but of resilience. A brand that survives liquidation, retains a loyal customer base, continues to attract franchise interest and remains positioned for future growth is not the 'Blockbuster of burgers.' It is a turnaround story that is still being written."
https://www.foxnews.com/food-drink/fuddruckers-became-blockbuster-burgers-now-its-nearly-gone