Fast-casual Mexican chain Rubio’s Coastal Grill is permanently closing about 7% of its units, pulling out of Colorado and Florida because of the impacts of the coronavirus on its business, the company confirmed.
The Carlsbad, Calif.-based brand, which has approximately 170 locations, will close six stores in Colorado and six in Florida.
“Unfortunately, due to the business impact of COVID-19, Rubio’s has made the difficult decision to close 12 locations in the Colorado and Florida markets, and is in the process of formalizing these closures now,” a chain spokeswoman said. “Rubio’s will continue to focus on their core markets—California, Arizona and Nevada.”
The chain, which serves traditional Baja dishes, has been shrinking in recent years. It had 204 stores in 2018, according to Restaurant Business sister company Technomic.
Its sales remained largely flat from 2018 to 2019, according to Technomic. Rubio’s generated $232 million in sales in 2019. It ranked 158th on Technomic’s Top 250 largest chains of 2020.
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