Orlando, Florida, U.S.A.-based Darden Restaurants abruptly closed 15 of its Bahama Breeze restaurants – around one-third of its total locations.
“Closing a restaurant is a difficult choice because it impacts our team members and guests,” Darden said in an email to Nation’s Restaurant News. “However, we believe this is the right decision because it will allow Bahama Breeze to focus on its highest-performing restaurants and strengthen the brand’s overall performance.”
The closed locations are spread across several U.S. states, including Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, and Tennessee, Darden said.
Sales at Bahama Breeze, which features several seafood dishes on its tropical-themed menu, dropped 7.7 percent in 2024 to USD 246.7 million (EUR 219.5 million), according to Technomic’s Top 500 Chain Restaurant Report, per CNN.
Darden’s total sales increased 6.2 percent year over year in its most recent fiscal quarter, but two of its larger chains – Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse – experienced sales growth lower than analysts’ projections, according to CNN.
Those lower sales and Bahama Breeze closures, among other restaurant difficulties across the U.S., underscore the “tough times casual dining restaurants are facing,” Menu Matters President Maeve Webster told CNN.
Such chains typically cater to lower- and middle-income families looking for a sit-down meal, but their incomes are shrinking due to inflation, she further explained.
Some other seafood-focused chains are also struggling, including Bloomin’ Brands’ Bonefish Grill, which realized a sales drop of 4 percent in the most recent quarter. Overall revenues for Bloomin’ Brands, which operates Outback Steakhouse, Bonefish Grill, Carrabba’s Italian Grill, and Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar, fell 1.8 percent in the quarter due to the net impact of restaurant closures and openings and a decrease in comparable restaurant sales.
Red Lobster has also outlined a long path back to profitability after declaring bankruptcy last year.
