Updated: July 24, 2026
Papa Murphy’s parent company, MTY Food Group, plans to close approximately 45 to 50 underperforming Papa Murphy’s restaurants as part of a wider restructuring involving 68 corporate-owned locations. The closures will take place over six to nine months, but MTY has not released a list of affected stores.
The announcement does not mean Papa Murphy’s is going out of business. Most of the take-and-bake pizza chain’s restaurants are independently operated franchises and are not automatically included in the plan.
Why is Papa Murphy’s closing stores?
MTY conducted a store-by-store review and identified 68 company-owned restaurants across its portfolio that were consistently underperforming. Together, those 68 locations—not Papa Murphy’s stores alone—lost more than $10 million during the previous 12 months.
CEO Eric Lefebvre said closing the weakest restaurants would reduce losses and allow MTY to focus its employees, capital and other resources on healthier locations.
The company cited softer consumer spending, commodity expenses and other operating costs as pressures on profitability. MTY recorded a $7.5 million impairment charge related to the closures and expects lease terminations and associated expenses to cost between $10 million and $12 million.
How many Papa Murphy’s locations will close?
MTY’s official financial release confirms that 68 corporate-owned restaurants will close. Management indicated that approximately 45 to 50 would be Papa Murphy’s locations. The other affected brands have not been publicly identified.
MTY operated 7,040 restaurants at the end of its second quarter on May 31, including 6,808 franchised or operator-managed locations and 232 corporate-owned stores.
The closures therefore represent nearly 29% of MTY’s company-operated portfolio but less than 1% of its worldwide network. Approximately 97% of MTY restaurants are operated by franchisees or independent operators.
Which Papa Murphy’s stores are closing?
No complete closure list had been published as of July 24. Some closures were expected to begin in July, with others following over six to nine months as MTY negotiates lease exits and manages distribution changes.
Customers should check the official Papa Murphy’s location directory, review their local restaurant’s ordering page or call before visiting. MTY has not announced one final operating date for all affected stores.
Is Papa Murphy’s going out of business?
No bankruptcy, liquidation or nationwide shutdown has been announced. Papa Murphy’s will continue operating through its much larger network of franchised restaurants.
The chain’s footprint has declined from 1,168 restaurants in 2023 to 1,014 at the end of 2025. The latest restructuring is expected to remove most remaining corporate-operated Papa Murphy’s stores without automatically affecting hundreds of franchises.
The decision reflects wider pressure across the restaurant industry. More than 40 independently operated restaurants were affected when Dairy Queen franchisees closed stores across the United States.
What happens to employees, gift cards and rewards?
MTY has not disclosed how many employees will be affected or whether workers will receive transfers. Employment arrangements may differ by restaurant.
No chain-wide cancellation of gift cards or rewards has been announced. Customers using a location that is closing should ask about unused rewards, pending orders and gift-card redemption before its final trading day. Acceptance may vary among independently owned restaurants.
What do MTY’s latest results show?
MTY reported second-quarter system sales of approximately $1.4 billion, down 3.5% from the comparable period. Same-store sales declined 2.1% overall and 2.2% in the United States, while company revenue fell 8.2% to $279.9 million.
MTY nevertheless opened 84 restaurants and closed 78 during the quarter, producing six net openings. The company said its development pipeline remains strong.
The restructuring comes as other pizza businesses reconsider their operations and ownership strategies. Customers can also read about Pizza Hut’s reported $2.7 billion ownership change and its possible implications for restaurants and franchisees.
Additional details are available in MTY Food Group’s official second-quarter results.
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