Jack’s gone, funeral attendees

Have you ever had a good day until you realized something you enjoyed is about to disappear?

As a fan of the fast food chain, I was saddened but also curious as to why Jack in the Box was taking such drastic action. With nearly 10 percent of all locations closing there’s a real chance our community may lose one too.

This mass closure is the frontrunner for what the company calls the “JACK on Track” plan. Starting April 23, 2025, 150-200 of 2,200 locations will permanently close their doors. 

Doing so, the company can redirect resources toward improving pre-existing locations with renovations, software upgrades, and transitioning some franchise locations into corporate-directed locations.

Jack in the Box Chief Executive Officer Lance Tucker claims the changes will lead to long term growth. However the percentage of storefronts closing tells me otherwise.

Personally, I believe that the proposed improvements don’t address the underlying source of decline: a lack of incentive for customers.

With mediocre reviews on Yelp and meals averaging $13, Jack in the Box is as standard and unremarkable as fast food gets and that’s the problem.

“There are other options that I would rather go to than a Jack in the Box,” said CVHS senior Xavier Roberts. His opinion was shared among the students I interviewed, especially when asked to choose certain menu items against competitors’ offerings such as boba.

Admittedly, as a nationwide chain Jack in the Box can fill certain niches like boba in a community, sometimes even as the only store offering it.

But in California with its large Asian-American population that’s rarely the case, especially here in Castro Valley where we already have five competing boba shops.

Boba is just one of many items piled onto this large melting pot of a menu alongside tacos, churros, egg rolls, cakes, salads, wraps, and protein bowls.

While menu diversity definitely is a positive for those wanting to try something new, it also leads to the issue of competition in multiple markets. 

For emphasis, McDonald’s and Burger King specialize in burgers so they primarily focus on the burger arena. But Jack in the Box’s jack of all trades menu forces them to fight on multiple fronts all at once such as the Mexican, Asian, and healthy alternatives fields.

Ironically, the heavy competition the brand faces becomes its strength once late hours arrive. Unlike most restaurants, the majority of Jack in the Boxes are open 24/7, essentially becoming the only place available to satisfy cravings.

But if they’re only on top when everyone else is closed that’s not much of a victory.

The issue of a lack of consumer incentive for most of the day can be easily solved with specialization.

Instead of offering everything for the sake of, Jack should focus on what kind of restaurant it wants to be. 

A fast food burger joint should mainly offer burgers. Anything straying too far leads to higher resource costs, reliance on cheaper sources, more complex work for employees, and lower overall quality. 

There’s a reason why Itea doesn’t sell tacos. And Jack needs to realize why.

If Jack wants to get back on track, he first needs to figure out how to get customers back on board.