By Pedro Bianco
En esta noticia
Two iconic fast-food brands vanished overnight from Puerto Rico’s landscape. Yum! Brands, the company that owns KFC and Taco Bell, announced last Monday the closure of all its restaurants on the island, a U.S. territory, after ending its relationship with the local operator that ran them.
KFC and Taco Bell Confirm the Closure of All Their Locations in This U.S. Territory
Yum! Brands announced the simultaneous closure of all KFC and Taco Bell locations in Puerto Rico. The decision came after the company ended its business relationship with Encanto Restaurants, the local company that operated those brands on the island under a franchise arrangement. Once that tie was cut, the restaurants stopped operating.
According to reports, the shutdown is temporary: the chain is urgently seeking a new franchise partner to reopen and run the locations.
Part of the impact of the news lies in the brands’ long history. KFC opened its first restaurant in Puerto Rico in 1967, giving it about 59 years of uninterrupted presence on the island, a brand that several generations grew up with. Taco Bell, meanwhile, arrived later, in 1985, with just over four decades of local history.
How Many Locations Closed and How Many Workers Were Left Out of Work
As for the scale of the shutdown, reports say KFC had about 83 locations in Puerto Rico. The exact number of workers affected by the closure of both brands was not officially specified.
What is known is that Encanto Restaurants, the operator, employs more than 3,000 people, but across its four brands on the island. In addition to KFC and Taco Bell, it runs Pizza Hut and IHOP, so the direct impact of this shutdown affects only part of that total. In any case, it involves thousands of employees whose job status has been left in limbo.