Guzman Y Gomez Us Closure Ends All 8 U.S. Restaurants
Guzman y Gomez us closure became final on May 22, when all eight of the chain’s U.S. restaurants ceased trading and shut permanently. The Mexican kitchen’s exit ended its American run in Chicagoland after six years and closed the door on a market that once figured in a much larger expansion plan.
Chicagoland ends at eight
Eight restaurants were the full U.S. footprint, and every one of them was in Chicagoland. The company told customers on its U.S. website, “All GYG USA restaurants permanently closed,” and on Instagram thanked guests and employees for six years of burritos and big dreams in the region.
Six years in one metro area gave Guzman y Gomez a narrow but visible U.S. base. That is the practical change for Chicago-area diners: the chain is gone from the market, not trimmed back, and there are no U.S. locations left to visit after May 22.
Marks on sales momentum
Steven Marks said the food and guest experience was not translating into better sales momentum, even after the company spent the last three months in the U.S. assessing the business. He said the operation would have needed significantly more time and capital than expected.
Marks also said the business was unlikely to deliver the performance that would justify continued investment of shareholder capital. For a chain that once planned to open hundreds of U.S. locations, that is the sharpest reversal in the story: a wide expansion thesis gave way to a full retreat from the country.
Australia, Japan and Singapore
The company remains active in Australia, Japan and Singapore, so the U.S. closure does not touch its operations there. The founders, Steven Marks and Robert Hazan, built the brand in Australia after starting it with a New York background, and the U.S. debut came in 2020 before the Chicago-area run began.
For customers and staff in Chicagoland, the immediate next step is simple: the restaurants are closed, and the brand’s own messages leave no U.S. reopening path on the table. The broader question now is whether the company’s overseas markets can absorb the capital and attention that the American push could not.
