Burger King to Renovate 400 Locations in 2025

Burger King plans to remodel about 400 of its U.S. locations in 2025 as part of its ambitious "Reclaim the Flame" strategy to modernize restaurants and boost sales.

The makeovers are already paying off. Sales at remodeled locations have increased in the mid-teens, according to Joshua Kobza, CEO of parent company Restaurant Brands International, who shared the results during a May 8 earnings call.

"We still have a lot of remodels to get done," Kobza said. "We've got a lot of restaurants that aren't at the modern image."

The 400 renovations this year are just the start. Burger King expects to complete about 2,000 remodels by 2028, which would bring more than 85% of its U.S. restaurants up to the new "Sizzle" modern design. This sleek format emphasizes digital ordering and streamlined drive-thru operations – features that cater to today's fast-paced consumers.

The remodel push is central to Burger King's "Reclaim the Flame" plan, launched in September 2022 to boost the brand's performance in the U.S. Miami-based Restaurant Brands International, which also owns Tim Hortons, Popeyes, and Firehouse Subs, plans to invest up to $700 million through 2028 in this turnaround effort.

The strategy appears to be working during challenging times for the fast-food industry. While many competitors struggled with declining sales in the first quarter, Burger King's U.S. comparable sales dropped just 1.1% – outperforming McDonald's 3.6% decrease and Wendy's 2.6% decline.

"Burger King U.S. continued to outperform the broader burger QSR (quick service restaurant) category, reflecting the ongoing progress of our 'Reclaim the Flame' plan in capturing share," Kobza said.

To support this transformation, Burger King recently opened a 40,000-square-foot Royal Innovation Center in Miami. It features a full-scale replica of the Sizzle restaurant design, allowing the company to test new layouts and operations before rolling them out nationwide.

"We started with an empty warehouse and we just went broadly across the organization to our development team and our technology groups and our operations innovation team," explained Marc Aust, VP of Operations. The center enables the company to test everything from equipment innovations to drive-thru operations in a real-world setting.

Not all Burger King locations are doing great, however. Consolidated Burger Holdings, which operates 57 locations in Florida, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April, though its restaurants continue operating while seeking a buyer.

by Alex Bailey | May 31, 2025 | SHARE