Fast Food Open on Christmas 2026: McDonald's, Starbucks and More

Some fast food is open on Christmas Day, but it depends on the chain and, more often, on the individual owner. For Friday, December 25, 2026, the best bets are McDonald's, Starbucks, Dunkin', Wendy's, Burger King, Arby's and Domino's, all of which leave the decision to franchisees or local managers and had many locations open last year. Closed everywhere by company policy: Chick-fil-A, Taco Bell, Chipotle, In-N-Out, Whataburger, Raising Cane's, Panera, Jersey Mike's and Krispy Kreme.

No fast-food chain has announced Christmas 2026 plans as of mid-October, and most never issue a formal announcement at all – they answer reporters' questions in December. The entries below are each company's standing policy or what its spokespeople said about Christmas 2025, mainly to USA Today, Today.com, Yahoo News and Nexstar stations, plus the chains' own FAQ pages. Where reports disagreed, we say so instead of picking a side. We will update the page when 2026 statements arrive.

Fast food open on Christmas Day

"Varies by location" is not a dodge. McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's, Dunkin', Subway and Domino's are overwhelmingly franchised, and the franchise agreement lets each owner decide whether opening on a slow, hard-to-staff day makes sense. An owner with a restaurant beside an interstate exit or a hospital usually opens. One in a suburban strip mall, next to a closed Target, often does not.

Is McDonald's open on Christmas Day?

Most are. A McDonald's spokesperson told Today.com in December 2025 that most restaurants in the U.S. would be open on Christmas, and told USA Today that most McDonald's restaurants are open on holidays generally, with hours that vary. Expect shorter hours than usual, and at some restaurants a drive-thru-only operation. The McDonald's app shows each restaurant's hours for the day and will not let you place a mobile order at a closed store, which makes it a quick test.

Is Starbucks open on Christmas Day?

Many Starbucks stores are, but not all. Starbucks does not publish a national holiday schedule; a spokesperson said last year that coffeehouse hours vary by location and may be adjusted "based on business and customer needs." Stores that open generally run a shortened schedule. Licensed Starbucks counters inside Target, Barnes & Noble and most supermarkets are closed because the host store is closed; those in airports, hotels and hospitals generally follow the host's hours. Use the store locator in the Starbucks app and look at the hours listed for December 25.

Is Dunkin' open on Christmas Day?

Usually. Dunkin' told Today.com that hours vary and that plenty of its stores would be open last Christmas while some might close. Nearly all Dunkin' shops are franchised. The company's advice is to check the Dunkin' app, which lists hours store by store.

Fast food closed on Christmas Day

Is Chick-fil-A open on Christmas? No. The company's FAQ says U.S. Chick-fil-A restaurants are closed on Christmas "so our restaurant teams can spend time with family and friends." It adds that restaurants are open on Christmas Eve unless it falls on a Sunday, "although they may have limited operating hours." Christmas Eve 2026 is a Thursday, so restaurants should be open, but there is no chain-wide closing time. Check your restaurant in the Chick-fil-A app.

Is Taco Bell open on Christmas? No. Taco Bell's help center states that it is open on Christmas Eve, with hours that may vary by location, and closed on Christmas Day.

Is Whataburger open on Christmas? No. Whataburger describes itself as open 24 hours a day, 364 days a year, and Christmas is the exception. The company confirmed the 2025 closure to USA Today. In 2022, the last year for which Whataburger published times, restaurants closed at 6 p.m. on December 24 and reopened at 6 a.m. on December 26.

Is In-N-Out open on Christmas? No. An In-N-Out spokesperson said restaurants close on Christmas Day so associates can be with their families, and that they stayed open until 11 p.m. on Christmas Eve 2025.

Is Chipotle open on Christmas? No. Chipotle told USA Today it was closed on December 25, 2025 and that restaurants closed at 3 p.m. local time on Christmas Eve – earlier than most people expect.

Breakfast on Christmas morning

For a hot breakfast without cooking, the realistic drive-thru options are McDonald's and Dunkin' locations that open, followed by Wendy's and Burger King where the owner has chosen to. Chick-fil-A, Panera, Taco Bell and Whataburger are closed all day. If you want a table, the round-the-clock diner chains are a better bet than any fast-food counter: Waffle House is open every day of the year, and IHOP and Denny's keep many restaurants open. Convenience chains with kitchens, such as Wawa, Sheetz and QuikTrip, sell breakfast sandwiches and coffee around the clock. Whatever you choose, check the hours the night before; a restaurant that opens at 6 a.m. on a normal Friday may not unlock until 8 or 9 on Christmas.

Varies by location – call ahead

For the chains below we could not find a statement on the company's own website or newsroom, and where news lists covered them last year they did not agree. We therefore give no status and no hours. Treat every one of them as a location-by-location question and check the chain's app or phone the restaurant:

• Jack in the Box. A company spokesperson told Nexstar stations in 2024 only that hours may vary by location and can be found online. Lists for 2025 pointed in opposite directions – Axios grouped it with franchised chains where many locations would be closed, while Parade said it was closed – and none cited the company.
• KFC. No company statement found. Nexstar's 2025 list said only to confirm with your local restaurant.
• Panda Express. No company statement found; the only 2025 mention we could open was a local San Francisco Bay Area list.
• Pizza Hut, Little Caesars, Popeyes, Sonic. Franchised chains with no company-wide statement for 2025 or 2026. Use the ordering site or app for your address.
• Five Guys, Shake Shack, Dutch Bros, Tim Hortons. None has published a Christmas Day policy that we could find. Check the location in the chain's app or store locator.

Coffee shops open on Christmas

For coffee, Starbucks and Dunkin' are the national options, with the caveats above. Krispy Kreme closes. Peet's was listed as closed in a San Francisco Bay Area roundup last year; we found no company statement from Peet's or Caribou Coffee, so check the store. Beyond the chains:

• Convenience stores are the most dependable source of a hot cup: 7-Eleven, Wawa, Sheetz, QuikTrip and Circle K were open on Christmas Day 2025, most of them 24 hours.
• McDonald's coffee is available wherever the restaurant is open.
• Hotel lobby cafes serve non-guests and keep holiday hours.
• Independent coffee shops mostly close, though a few in every city open for the morning; they announce it on social media.

If morning coffee matters to the household, buy beans or pods by Christmas Eve. It is the cheapest insurance on this page.

Pizza places open on Christmas

Pizza on Christmas Day is possible in most cities, but you may need to try more than one shop. A Domino's spokesperson told Newsweek in December 2022 that its stores "are not mandated to be open on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day" and that hours are up to the franchise owners; Nexstar's 2024 and 2025 lists described the chain the same way. Papa Johns was listed by Axios with select locations open last year. Pizza Hut and Little Caesars have not published a Christmas Day policy that we could find, so the ordering site is the only test. Casey's, the Midwestern convenience chain known for its pizza, opened its stores at 10 a.m. on Christmas Day 2025, a spokesperson told the Des Moines Register.

Independent pizzerias are a coin toss; many in big cities open for dinner. The quickest check is the chain's own ordering site or app: enter your address, and if it offers a delivery or carryout time for today, the store is open. Order early. Kitchens that open on Christmas are short-staffed and delivery estimates stretch quickly in the evening.

How to check one specific location in two minutes

1. Open the chain's own app and select the restaurant. McDonald's, Starbucks, Dunkin', Chick-fil-A, Wendy's and Taco Bell all show daily hours per location.
2. Try to start a mobile order for pickup now. If the app will not accept it, the store is closed or not yet open.
3. Check a delivery app. A restaurant that is accepting orders on DoorDash or Uber Eats is open.
4. Call. Franchise restaurants often record a holiday-hours greeting.
5. Distrust map listings that show ordinary hours with a note that holiday hours may differ. Nobody has updated them.

Locations inside other businesses follow their host. A Subway inside a Walmart or a Starbucks inside a Target is closed on Christmas Day because the building is. Counters in airports, turnpike service plazas, hospitals and casinos are the opposite: the host never closes, so at least some food outlets stay open.

Delivery on Christmas Day

DoorDash, Uber Eats and Grubhub operate on December 25, limited by which restaurants are open. DoorDash's own analysis ranked Christmas Day as its busiest holiday for delivery in 2024, measured by the average number of deliveries per open restaurant location, with New Year's Day second. In other words, a small number of open kitchens handle a great many orders. To make it work:

• Order before you are hungry. Lunch orders placed by 11 a.m. and dinner orders placed by 4 p.m. avoid the worst delays.
• Choose pickup if you can. Drivers are scarce on the holiday and pickup removes the longest wait.
• Keep the order simple; open restaurants often run a reduced menu.
• Tip generously. Drivers and counter staff are working the holiday.

Fast food on Christmas Eve

Thursday, December 24, 2026 is nearly a normal day until mid-afternoon, then closings come fast. Last year Chipotle closed at 3 p.m., Krispy Kreme at 6 p.m. and Casey's at 6 p.m., while In-N-Out stayed open until 11 p.m. McDonald's, Wendy's, Starbucks, Dunkin', Taco Bell, Burger King and Panera were open with hours that varied by location; Zaxby's said some restaurants might close early, and Firehouse Subs ran limited hours. If you are relying on a drive-thru dinner on the way to a family gathering, plan on getting there before 5 p.m. More closing times are in our guide to Christmas Eve hours.

Fast food on a Christmas road trip

Millions of people spend part of December 25 in a car, and the highway is where open food is easiest to find. Travel centers – Pilot Flying J, Love's and TA – stayed open around the clock last Christmas, and most have a fast-food counter or two inside, though individual counters may close. Buc-ee's is open 24 hours every day of the year. Sheetz, Wawa, QuikTrip and Kwik Trip sell made-to-order sandwiches, burritos and breakfast. Waffle House, which never closes, sits at a great many Southern exits. Pack snacks and water anyway: in rural stretches the only open business for an hour may be an unattended gas pump.

For sit-down meals, reservations and to-go Christmas dinners, see restaurants open on Christmas Day. For stores, pharmacies, mail and banks, the main guide is what is open on Christmas Day.