TORONTO -- Freshii Inc. shares have plunged following the restaurant chain's revelation that its growth has been slower than expected, resulting in the closure of some stores and a reduced target for net openings this year.

The Toronto-based company's revised outlook was announced late Monday after the stock market closed. The stock (TSX:FRII) was down 36 per cent at $5.67 in the first minutes of trading on Tuesday.

The stock began trading publicly in January at $12 after a $125-million initial public offering of its stock.

Freshii says it now expects between 90 and 95 net new openings for its 2017 financial year ending last December, down from the previous target of between 150 and 160 net openings including closures.

It now estimates there will be 369 to 376 Freshii stores systemwide by December, up from 345 as of Sunday.

It closed 17 of its non-traditional locations in Target department stores in the third quarter. One additional Freshii Target store will close by the end of this year.

Freshii also says that expansion in the United Kingdom and several U.S. states has been slower than expected because its multi-unit franchisees have been more conservative in their real estate selection than the company anticipated.

Freshii has also scaled back its expansion targets through to the end of fiscal 2019 to reflect a more cautious estimate for multi-unit franchisees, to between 730 and 760 stores from between 810 and 840 stores in the previous guidance.