Restaurant Chain Abruptly Closes All U.S. Locations, Ends Chicago-Area Expansion

CHICAGOLAND, IL — Australian fast-casual chain Guzman y Gomez is abruptly shutting down all of its U.S. restaurants, ending a yearslong expansion effort centered entirely in the Chicago area.

The company announced this week it will immediately exit the U.S. market after determining its American operations were unlikely to meet financial performance targets, according to Reuters.

The closure affects eight Chicagoland locations, including restaurants in Naperville, Schaumburg, Buffalo Grove, Crystal Lake, Evanston, Deerfield, Des Plaines and Chicago’s Bucktown neighborhood, according to Shaw Local.

In a statement posted on its website, the company said:

After six years of burritos and big dreams in Chicagoland, we've made the difficult decision to close our U.S. restaurants.

Guzman y Gomez

The move comes as a sharp reversal for the Australian-based Mexican-inspired chain, which only last month announced plans to continue expanding in the Chicago market with new locations planned for Lincoln Square, Lakeview and Naperville, according to Chicago Food Magazine.

In April, Patch reported that the new Naperville location, which was to be the second one for the city, was under construction. As of this week, banners promising the location was "opening fall 2026" remained up along Route 59.

Founder and co-CEO Steven Marks said the company concluded it would take “significantly more time and capital” than expected to scale successfully in the United States. The company expects the withdrawal to result in a one-time financial hit of between $30 million and $40 million, according to Reuters.

Guzman y Gomez first entered the U.S. market in 2020 with its first restaurant in Naperville.